Not Alone
by ill at ease
Summary: Blaine and Kurt need each other more than they realize. This story is about the friendship and love between these two characters and how it grows throughout their relationship. Loosely inspired by "Not Alone" by Darren Criss. Unabashedly Klaine.
1. CH 1: Darkness

**This is NOT a song fic. Well, it kind of is, but in a not so annoying song fic kind of way. (sorry to all those songfic fans out there, but I rarely like those)**

**Anyway, this is going to be an 8 chapter story about Blaine and Kurt's relationship inspired by Darren Criss's song, Not Alone. It picks up from the end of Special Education, so if you're reading this fic after subsequent episodes, be warned that it probably won't take into account the things that have happened in those episodes.**

**Hope you all like it. ^.^**

**(And yes, I do HIGHLY suggest buying this song or finding it on youtube and listening to it while reading this fic. It's just more fun that way.)**

* * *

I've been alone

Surrounded by darkness

I've seen how heartless

The world can be

Blaine walked through the halls of Dalton, his hands tucked into his pockets, his mind wandering from one subject to the next. Mostly, however, his brain seemed determined to think about one thing in particular, one thing that Blaine was for once trying his hardest not to think about: Kurt. He was sad that the bullying at McKinley had finally gotten bad enough to force him to transfer to Dalton, but he certainly wasn't complaining about getting to see him more often.

Ever since that faithful day when Blaine and his friends caught Kurt spying on them, there had been an undeniable connection between the two. Sure, some of that was probably because they'd both been through some pretty rough patches with bullying, but it was more than that. After several weeks of hanging out with him, Blaine could see that. Kurt was a great guy. The two of them had a lot in common, and even when they didn't like the same things, it was still so easy to talk to each other about them.

Then there was his voice. Good lord that boy had a beautiful voice! During his solo audition, Blaine couldn't help but stare in wonder. Of course, every other person in that room had been staring as well, but Blaine still felt a bit conspicuous afterwards. Despite all the rumors, there weren't a whole lot of gay guys at Dalton, and before Kurt showed up, Blaine was the only gay man in the Warblers. At least, he was the only one who was openly gay. He had his suspicions about a few of the guys. Not that this had ever really been a problem. Dalton had a zero-tolerance policy for bullying, which the staff and faculty took very seriously. Even the slightest hint of bullying, and you were called to the principal's office immediately. If there was anything more than a hint, you were suspended. Everyone at Dalton knew the policy and knew how rigidly it was enforced. As a result, they hadn't had a single case of bullying reported in three years.

Of course, whether people were saying anything or not, school policy couldn't change how people thought. Despite the fact that he had many close and accepting friends here at Dalton soon after he transferred, he still got the occasional weird look from people passing him in the halls. They weren't threatening or even disdainful looks. Their eyes didn't say, "I hate you." They just said, "You're different." And as much as Blaine tried not to let those looks get to him, they did.

He wasn't sure when it happened, or even if there really was a particular time it started, but slowly, over the years, Blaine had become more and more like everyone else at that school, less different. There were times when Blaine felt bad about that, but mostly, he just felt relieved.

For years, he had put up with constant name-calling, harassment, and even physical beatings just because of the fact that he was different. He remembered coming home from school and trying to hide the tears and bruises from his parents. He felt ashamed that he couldn't stand up for himself and take care of this problem on his own, so he was determined to at least endure it on his own and not bring anyone else into this mess. He stopped hanging out with his friends so that people would stop calling them "fags" for hanging out with a gay guy. Deep down, he knew that he didn't deserve this, that he should get a chance to be happy, to be able to just be himself and not have to feel bad about it, but all he felt was hopelessness. And nobody seemed to care.

Finally, he came home with a face so covered in bruises that there was no way to hide it from his parents. They took him to talk to the principal, but there was nothing they could do, or at least nothing they were willing to do. He claimed that because the beatings took place off campus, the school couldn't do anything about it. And as for any other actions that could be taken against those boys, it was Blaine's word against theirs for what happened. He said they had jumped him for no reason and he fought back. They said he was the one who started the fight.

Frustrated with the school's apathy, his parents took him out of public school and enrolled him in Dalton Academy. The tuition was steep, and though money had never been a problem for his family, he knew that they were making a big sacrifice for him, and he wasn't about to let them down. Things would be different at Dalton. And they were different here. He was different here, and that was OK. At least, it was OK until he met Kurt.

Blaine saw a lot of himself in Kurt; albeit, Kurt was much more flamboyant than he ever was. Hanging out with him, Blaine could feel a bit of his old self resurfacing, the part of him that was different and proud of that fact, the part of him that wasn't afraid to hide his love for Vouge and Patti LuPone. And as much as he wanted to deny it, he missed that old self. Not that he wasn't proud of his new self. He had learned a lot in his time at Dalton and grown a lot. He just wished he could have all that and still be able to talk openly about everything he cared about, not just the things he knew everyone else cared about too. In a lot of ways, he wished he could be more like Kurt.

And now his mind was finally back to the subject that had driven him to wander the Dalton halls aimlessly in the first place: the advice he had given Kurt earlier that week.

"Don't try so hard next time. Did you notice we all wear uniforms here? It's about being part of the team."

The advice he gave Kurt was true. He wasn't going to make it as a Warbler if he only cared about standing out. That really wasn't what this school was about. It was about fitting in, and if Kurt wanted to be successful there, he'd have to find a way to fit in too. But the more he thought about that, the less comfortable he was with it, for both him and Kurt. He had let himself be pushed into this mold, let himself become what others wanted him to be, not what he wanted to be. And now he was trying to do that to Kurt.

Blaine was lost. He didn't know what to do about this. He was so used to things at Dalton. It had become a security blanket for him, protecting him from the darkness of the world outside. He knew how heartless the world could be to people who were different, but instead of trying to change that, he had let himself be pushed to the side. Now he was letting the same thing happen to Kurt. That was what really bothered Blaine. He could accept that he had brought himself to this place, but not Kurt. He wanted something better for him.

But in the end, it was Kurt's decision. Blaine couldn't make it for him. If Kurt wanted to continue going to Dalton and to fit the mold, Blaine would have to be supportive of that. Still, maybe together they could keep those parts of themselves alive in their friendship.

Blaine's phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw that the text was from Kurt.

"Come to the commons, quick. Something's wrong!" Blaine slipped the phone back into his pocket and headed down the hall in Kurt's direction, quickening his pace with each step. When he got to the room, he saw Kurt sitting on the edge of his seat, staring worriedly at Pavarotti.

"I got your text. What's wrong?"

"It's Pavarotti, I think he's sick! I'm taking good care of him, but he won't sing and he's loosing his feathers." Blaine leaned down to examine the bird.

"Oh he's just molting. He's growing a new set of feathers, so his body has to shut down a little. Don't worry about it. He's got food, water, he seems to like his cage. Just give it a little while. He'll be singing again in no time." Blaine realized as he was speaking that it wasn't Pavarotti he was talking about anymore. It was Kurt. But he was no longer sure that it would be true. He turned to Kurt, mustering up a smile.

"Don't forget, Warbler practice tonight at five. Regional's here we come!" With that, he stood up and left the room. His mind was all over the place today, and he needed some more time to collect his thoughts. Pavarotti would be fine, at least, physically, but some birds needed to fly free. Blaine wasn't sure if he could take seeing Kurt in the Dalton cage.

* * *

**So, what did you think? Reviews are love. ^.^**

**Also, for anyone who's afraid this story might get a bit too... angsty, don't worry. There's more action to come in the future. More angst too, but well, this is high school we're talking about, right? How can there be a fic about that without a bit of angst?**


	2. CH 2: Hopeless

**AN: Thank you so much for all your reviews, favs, and story alerts guys! I really appreciate them. ^.^ I've got some good news and some bad news. The bad news is that chapter two took me a bit longer to get out than I had hoped. The good news is that the reason it took me so long is because I was inspired for chapter 4 and got a lot of work done there. That means the update after chapter 3 will ready for you guys a lot quicker than the others. ^.^**

**Anyway, hope you all enjoy this new chapter.**

* * *

I've seen you crying

Felt like it's hopeless

I'll always do my best

To make you see

Kurt had an amazing smile. Blaine only wished that he could see it more often. Now that both boys were attending Dalton Academy, they were seeing more of each other than ever before, but Kurt hardly ever seemed to smile at school. At least, not the smile Blaine wanted to see. When they hung out on their own, they would laugh and Kurt's face would just light up, but at school, even when he did crack a smile, it always seemed a bit… sad, a bit withdrawn.

Blaine had been looking for a way to ask Kurt about this for weeks, but how do you casually bring that up in conversation? "Hey, I noticed you're always sad!" Blunt, not to mention slightly condescending. "So I watch you all the time, and I've noticed…" Incredibly creepy. No, there was just no good way to bring it up. Still, Blaine was concerned, and he was almost willing to go with one of those blunt, creepy conversation openers just to get to the bottom of this. As it turned out, however, he didn't need to.

It was late, and Warblers practice had been out for a while. As usual, though practice had officially ended, there was a handful of guys still singing and messing around. Blaine hadn't heard much of their song, as Wes had pulled him to the side of the room to talk about Regional's and their possible selection of songs. Blaine wasn't on the council, and it was exactly because of these rants Wes always relayed to him about how much drama went on in their ranks that Blaine was particularly glad of this fact. Once Wes had finished his rant and calmed down a bit, Blaine gave him a comforting pat on the shoulder.

"Hang in there, and don't worry. Whatever song is chosen, you already know we're going to knock it out of the park." Wes smiled gratefully and returned to the other two council members, who were still bickering.

Blaine looked around for Kurt. Usually he stuck around so they could walk to the parking lot together and chat a bit more before going home, but he was nowhere to be seen. He wondered if Kurt had just left without him because he didn't know how long Wes's rant would last, but it wasn't like him to leave without some sort of acknowledgement that he was going. Blaine's eyes swept the room again, this time landing on a brown messenger's bag that was unmistakably Kurt's. Apparently he was still here. Figuring the he had probably just gone to the bathroom or something, Blaine decided just to wait until he got back, listening to that small group of Warblers singing "You can't always get what you want."

He sat there waiting until the group had finished their song, and Kurt still wasn't back yet. Soon, the only people left were a couple of people hanging out just outside the room chatting and Blaine. He was starting to get worried.

Picking up Kurt's bag as well as his own, Blaine left the room, nodding a quick goodbye to the guys in the hallway and went on a search for his wayward friend. He glanced in the rooms he passed, but they were all dark and empty. When he got to the entrance hall, he glanced out the window, only to see that Kurt's car was still there. Blaine backtracked through the school, confused and starting to get more than a little bit worried. Finally, he found him.

Blaine had almost walked past the room, noting that it was dark and, apparently empty, when a sniffling sound caught his attention. He poked his head further into the room and saw the dim outline of Kurt sitting against the wall.

"Hey," he called out softly, so as not to startle him "I've been looking for you." Kurt raised a hand, quickly wiping it across his face. Finally, Blaine put two and two together. He felt like an idiot for not realizing it immediately. Kurt was crying.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, walking over and taking a seat next to his friend, close enough that his shoulder brushed up against Kurt's.

"Nothing," Kurt said, turning his face away. "I'm fine." Blaine was speechless. Normally, he'd be offering some "sage advice" right now, but he honestly had no idea what was wrong. Though Kurt wasn't making any noise, his shoulders occasionally shook with silent sobs. Blaine just sat there and waited. His first impulse was to put an arm around Kurt's shoulders, but he restrained himself. As close as they had become, they had only known each other for a few months now.

After a few more minutes, the sobs stopped completely and Blaine felt Kurt shift his weight, leaning more against Blaine's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Kurt's voice was soft, and Blaine was reminded of the first time they had met, the first and only other time he had ever seen Kurt actually cry.

"Sorry? For what?" Blaine asked, just as lost now as he was when he first came in. Kurt laughed, but it came out sounding like another sob.

"For crying over something so silly," he said, brushing away the few tears that had started to leak from his eyes again. "I just… when I heard those guys singing after practice… The last time I heard that song, I was singing it with New Directions, and I was just feeling sorry for myself, I guess."

"You miss them," Blaine nodded, understanding now. Kurt nodded. Blaine knew one of the hardest things for Kurt had been leaving behind his friends at McKinley. He knew Kurt and Mercedes still hung out from time to time, often with Blaine tagging along with them, and Kurt still saw Finn at home, but it wasn't the same as seeing them every day. Blaine was lucky. When he transferred, he'd already lost what few friends he had, so there had been nothing there to hold him back. Kurt was a different story. He'd told Blaine about all the guys in Glee club trying to take on the bullies for him and everyone's offers to protect him 24/7 when he told them he was leaving. As much as Kurt had hated the school and its policies, he did still have people who cared about him there.

"It'll get better," Blaine said, though he had no way of knowing that for sure.

"I don't know if I want it to get better." And now Blaine was back to being lost. "I mean, I want things to get better, of course, but not like this. I don't want to get used to being away from my friends and I don't want to get used to fitting in. I still feel guilty about running away, about not being courageous enough face up to all the bullying." Blaine felt like he had been punched in the gut. Everything Kurt was saying now was exactly what Blaine had feared, both for himself and for Kurt, so it was no surprise what Kurt said next.

"I think I want to go back to McKinley." Silence greeted this pronouncement. Blaine had never given serious thought to Kurt leaving. Sure, every once in a while, the possibility crossed his mind, but he had convinced himself that it wasn't going to happen. Now, as they sat on the floor in this empty room, possibly the last people left in the building, Blaine realized how attached he had become to having Kurt around. Somewhere deep inside, he knew that this was probably the best decision for Kurt. He would have the chance to be brave, to live his life without regrets, and he deserved that chance. But a much louder, and much more selfish part of Blaine was shouting in his head that Kurt couldn't leave.

As accepting as his friends were at Dalton, Blaine had been thrilled to finally meet someone else like him, someone he could relate to and truly be himself around. Almost immediately, he had let his walls come down around Kurt, and they had become great friends in just a few days. That friendship had only been growing stronger since then, and now it was no stretch to say that Kurt truly was his best friend. He cared about the boy deeply, and he didn't want to loose him. But Kurt needed to be free. He needed to make this decision for himself and follow through. If Blaine really cared about him, he couldn't and wouldn't be the one to stop him.

"I'll miss you," Blaine finally said, trying to control his voice, keeping it even and sincere without giving away the sudden sense of loss he was feeling.

"You could always come with me," Kurt said with a soft smile in his direction. "You always said you regretted not facing your bullies when you were at your old school. We could do it together." Blaine smiled sadly.

"Now there was an idea. A crazy, mad, wonderful idea," he said, quoting one of his favorite movies, one that he and Kurt had watched a half dozen times together. "I can't. This is my life here. Besides," he nudged Kurt playfully with his shoulder. "I'm not as brave as you are."

"Says the guy came with me to confront that Neanderthal," Kurt said, shaking his head as if the idea of Blaine being anything other than a hero were preposterous, but Blaine new better. It had taken every once of bravery he'd had to go with Kurt that day. As cool and collected as he tried to seem, he was still terrified on the inside. And when that guy had shoved him, he'd felt that façade crack, if just for a moment, as all the memories of the beatings he had received before transferring to Dalton came rushing back to him. Blaine shrugged as if Kurt's admiration was no big deal, but he knew that he still wasn't brave enough to leave Dalton.

The two boys sat in the silence for a while longer, neither making a move to leave.

* * *

It was late when Blaine finally got home. He said a quick apology to his parents for being late, warmed up a plate of dinner, and headed to his room to start his massive pile of homework. When he opening his bag, however, he found an extra notebook sitting right on top. He pulled it out and recognized Kurt's scrawling handwriting across the cover. _English_. It must have gotten mixed in with his things sometime during practice that night. Blaine knew for a fact that Kurt didn't have any English homework due the next day, so he figured he could just return it tomorrow at school.

He pulled out his math homework and started working, but after only a few minutes, he found his mind wandering. He couldn't stop thinking about Kurt. Absentmindedly, he began flipping through Kurt's English notebook. The last half was from the class he was taking at Dalton, but the dates on the first half matched up with when he was still at McKinley. He turned the pages, not really paying attention to what was written on them, until he came to a page that was only a few weeks before Kurt had transferred. There was one word written on it, each letter traced so many times that, when Blaine ran his hand over it, he could still feel the indents of the pen. Courage. Flipping through the next few pages, he saw the word several more times, sometimes written elaborately and surrounded by doodles, and sometimes just scrawled messily in the margin.

Blaine stared at the word, the same word he had texted to Kurt repeatedly for weeks, the advice that he had given him and the advice that Kurt was now living up to. He traced his fingers over the word again, and wondered if he could ever be that strong.

_Courage_.

* * *

**Next chapter: Honestly, I think you can all probably figure out where the next chapter is headed. ;) Still a lot of fun stuff on the way, so stay tuned!**

**Also, for all you fellow Klaine lovers, don't worry. It's coming. It's kind of hard to move them from friendship to romance because, well, I like the friendship stuff too. But let's face it. Those boys are smitten and if there's any justice in TV Land, they will end up together.**

**One final note: Forgive the Alice in Wonderland quote. It just popped into my head as I was writing this, and I couldn't help but put it in. Since then, I've taken it out, put it back in, taken it out, etc. so many times. I'm still not sure if I like it in there or not, but for better or worse, it's there and it's not going anywhere. **

**As always, reviews are love. ^.^**


	3. CH 3: Here With Me

AN: Sorry for the long break between chapters. I really really love this story, so I hate to leave you all without a new chapter for so long, but there are two valid reasons why it has taken me this long.

Reason 1. Finals. Ugh. I took all my finals last week, one of which was a take home exam in which I had to prove fifteen mathematical theorems. That freakin' test took me twelve hours total to finish! *shakes fist at evil professor*

Reason 2: This is the chapter that would not die! Seriously, I tried to end it in like six different places, but none of them felt right, and I even ended up moving one of the scenes to the next chapter just to get this one finished in time! The good news is that this means you all have a nice, long chapter to read today! Yay! (seriously, this chapter is longer than the last two combined!)

Anyway, I hope you all enjoy this latest chapter!

* * *

CH 3

Baby you're not alone  
'Cause you're here with me  
And nothings ever gonna bring us down  
'Cause nothing can keep me from loving you  
And you know it's true  
It don't matter what'll come to be  
Our love is all we need to make it through

.

Kurt took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He reached up to straighten his bowtie again, even though he knew it was perfectly straight already. After all, he had been sitting in front of the mirror playing with it for about ten minutes now. Today would be his first day back at McKinley, and though he had been completely confident in his decision the entire week prior as he tried to convince his dad to let him transfer back, he was starting to feel some doubts again.

A month at Dalton had dulled his memories of Karofsky and his bullying, but now that he was only minutes away from going back to the school that allowed that behavior to go unpunished, he realized that the fear was just as sharp as it had been when he'd left. That was the reason he had only been able to take a few bites of breakfast this morning and why he was now incapable of getting up out of this chair.

He closed his eyes and took another deep breath. He knew his dad was worried about him going back to McKinley, despite Kurt's assurances that Sue, Mr. Schue, and the entire glee club would be there to make sure nothing happened to him and that this is what he wanted. If Kurt went upstairs with the pale, frightened look that was covering his face right now, he was sure his dad would send him right back to Dalton.

Taking a few more deep breaths, Kurt finally composed himself enough to get moving. He checked his phone for any new texts, and was disappointed to see that there were none. He had hoped to hear from Blaine this morning. Even just seeing the word "courage" would have meant the world to him at this point. Sighing, he slipped the phone into his pocket and grabbed his bag. He was going to be late if he didn't leave now. Finn had already gone in to school an hour ahead of him. There was some football meeting or practice or something. To be honest, Kurt hadn't been paying that close of attention.

Kurt strode upstairs, grabbed his bag, called out a quick goodbye to his dad, and headed out the door. He fumbled with his keys for a minute, trying to grab the one for his car, then looked up and stopped dead in his tracks. There was white car parked across the street, and leaning up against that car was Blaine. He almost had to do a double take to realize that it was him. He was not dressed in his usual Dalton Academy blazer and uniform. Instead, he was wearing a black and maroon plaid button down shirt that was just fitted enough to keep from looking sloppy and had a unique enough blend of colors to actually manage to look fashionable. Instead of gray slacks, he wore black ones and had switched out his black dress shoes for a pair of boots that seemed both dressy and casual at the same time.

As Kurt continued to stare, trying to convince himself that he wasn't hallucinating all this, Blaine pushed himself off the car and walked across the street.

"Hey," Blaine said, once he was close enough not to have to shout. "I was wondering if you wanted a ride to school."

"What? What are you doing here?" Kurt was trying to form coherent thoughts, but it was difficult. This was definitely the last thing he had expected this morning, and damn if Blaine didn't look good in this new outfit.

"I decided to transfer to McKinley. Today's my first day there too." Now Kurt was sure he was hallucinating. Maybe he'd fallen on the steps and hit his head and this was just some sort of weird coma dream.

"But… why would you…" Blaine just smiled. At least someone was amused by his speechlessness.

"I couldn't let my best friend face this all by himself. Besides, it's high time I stop running." Kurt felt a smile slip onto his face before he even fully comprehended what Blaine was saying. He was coming to McKinley for Kurt. Well, maybe not entirely, but still… Blaine was here with him. His source of courage for a long time now would be coming back to school with him. He wasn't going to be so alone in this struggle after all.

The front door opened behind him, and Kurt turned to see his dad dressed in coveralls and clearly ready to head off to work. His father stopped in his tracks when he saw that Kurt was still there, and his eyes traveled suspiciously to the boy standing a few feet away.

"Kurt, shouldn't you have left for school?"

"Yeah, Dad. I was just about to leave." Burt nodded, then looked back to Blaine.

"Who's this?"

"This is my friend Blaine. He has kindly offered to give me a ride to school." Blaine took a few steps forward and held out his hand.

"It's nice to finally meet you, sir." Burt just looked at the hand for a moment, clearly thrown off by Blaine's formality, before shaking it. Kurt could see the cogs in his dad's head turning as soon as he mentioned Blaine's name, trying to figure out if he had ever even heard of him. Kurt kind of hoped he wouldn't make the connection. The last time his dad had heard of Blaine was when Kurt explained who the guy in the photo he kept staring at was.

"Wait a second," Burt said, squinting his eyes. Yup, the gears had finally clicked. "I've heard Kurt talk about you before. Don't you go to Dalton?"

"I did," Blaine said, not loosing any of his composure, "but I transferred to McKinley this week."

"Speaking of school, we really should get going or we'll be late. I'll see you tonight, Dad." Kurt gave his dad a quick hug, and then rushed Blaine to his car.

Blaine was polite enough to say, "It was nice to meet you Mr. Hummel," before letting himself be pulled away. Honestly, Kurt could care less about being late for school at this point. He just needed to get Blaine away from his father before he said something embarrassing. It wasn't that Kurt never wanted the two to meet, but he had been hoping to prep his dad a bit before that actually happened.

The two boys settled into the car and put on their seatbelts. Blaine turned the key in the ignition and, as the car roared to life, he shot Kurt a cocky smile. "Not ready for me to meet the folks yet?" he asked, cheekily. Kurt smirked.

"I just don't think we've reached that point in our relationship yet," he said, giving in to the playful banter. Blaine laughed and pulled the car onto the road, the two of them joking and chatting about whatever came to mind the rest of the way to McKinley.

When they finally pulled up in front of the school, neither boy made a move to leave the car. Blaine reached over and squeezed Kurt's hand, giving him a friendly smile. "You ready for this?"

Kurt didn't answer right away. Normally, he'd have given anyone who asked that the patented, "I'm fine, don't worry about me," sort of answer that one generally gives in these situations, but Blaine wasn't just asking him to be reassured. He was really asking, and he deserved an honest answer. His fear wasn't gone, not by a long shot. The cold chill was still there, but now it was being kept at bay by a warmth growing in his chest. He looked down at his hand, still being clutched tightly in Blaine's, and he realized why. He wasn't alone. Not anymore.

"I'm ready."

* * *

Kurt wasn't sure what he had been expecting on his first day back, but as he walked through the halls of McKinnley, he was stuck by how normal everything was, yet at the same, how out of place it all felt. It was like reliving a memory, but with a few details altered. Most people didn't give him a second look, but a few did double takes. There were still rude and disdainful glances shot his way, and absolutely nobody he passed smiled at him. It was the same old McKinnley, and yet he felt like a stranger returning there. He had been forced out of the school by Karofsky's threats and behavior, and now he felt like an outsider. It didn't help that he still hadn't seen any of his friends.

Blaine bumped his shoulder against Kurt's, flashing him an encouraging smile. Kurt returned the smile, reassured, though only a little. Every time he caught sight of a letterman's jacket out of the corner of his eye, he flinched, expecting Karofsky to be behind it, but so far they had managed to avoid him.

As they walked down the hall, Kurt resisted the urge to reach over and grab Blaine's hand again. He didn't want to overstep the bounds of their friendship, but he still wished for the comfort of having his hand wrapped firmly in Blaine's. He briefly wondered if walking hand in hand down the hall with another guy would be a good thing if they actually did run into Karofsky, but quickly pushed the thought from his mind. He was determined for today to be a good day, and he wasn't going to ruin that by thinking about Karofsky. Still, he was glad that he didn't have to wander the halls alone his first morning back. Though they had different schedules for most of the day, Blaine was joining him for Glee club that morning.

As the two boys approached the choir room, Kurt realized that the lights were off. He checked his watch, wondering if Blaine had driven a lot faster than he'd thought, but found that there were actually only a few more minutes before the bell would ring and class would start. He opened the door and reached for the light switch, only to have someone across the room beat him to the punch.

"Surprise!" fifteen voices yelled together. Kurt blinked in the sudden light. Pink spots were floating before his eyes and it took a moment for him to realize that they weren't products of dazed retinas, but balloons tied to the back row of chairs on the risers. In fact, the entire room was covered in balloons and streamers, and a large sign reading "Welcome Back" was stretched across the back wall. His friends were scattered across the room, having just popped out of various hiding spots, all with big smiles on their faces. Mercedes sported the biggest smile of all, and she nearly ran to Kurt, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Welcome back to New Directions, Kurt," Mr. Sheuster said, stepping up from behind him to give him a brief pat on the shoulder. It was as if those words had triggered a flood, as everybody suddenly converged on Kurt, the girls pulling him into hugs and the guys grasping his shoulder and patting him on the back, all talking at once. Puck told him not to worry about Karofsky, that the guys would pulverize him if he made one wrong move. Rachel told him she was glad he was back, but that he better not think he was going to get any of her solos. Finn revealed that he and the rest of New Directions had actually come in early to put up the decorations. Brittany expressed her shock and relief that he wasn't dead. Kurt returned the embraces and (mostly) kind words, a smile stretched from ear to ear across his face. Finally, he felt like he was home again. The reunion was cut short, however, by a sharp cry from Rachel.

"Spy!" Everyone's head turned, following Rachel's accusatory pointed finger to a slightly startled looking Blaine, who was still standing in the doorway. "You're one of the Dalton soloists," she accused, still pointing at him rather rudely. "What are you doing here?" Blaine glanced uncertainly at Kurt, who quickly came to his friend's aid.

"Everybody, this is Blaine. He just transferred to McKinnley."

"Hold up," Santana said, raising her hand, palm forward in one of her classic I've-got-attitude gestures. "Haven't we been through the whole 'leader of rival glee club transfers to bring down the competition' thing?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Santana, this is completely different than that." Kurt rolled his eyes, but he really couldn't blame them all for thinking of Jesse St. James. "Blaine had his own reasons for transferring. He's not trying to play anybody."

"Then why did you transfer?" This time, it was Finn who spoke, and though he didn't sound as hostile as Rachel, he was still looking at Blaine suspiciously. Blaine shifted his feet uncomfortably.

"Would you guys just drop it already?" Kurt shot back, getting more and more frustrated with his friends with every word they spoke. He wasn't sure why he was getting so defensive. He knew Blaine could take care of himself. After all, Blaine had pretty much been Kurt's knight in shinning armor for the past three months. But this was different. This was Kurt's turf now, and he knew how hard it had been for Blaine to make the decision to transfer in the first place. He didn't want his friend to have to defend himself against a whole horde of people who seemed determined to think the worst of him.

"Hey," Mercedes said, stepping in between Kurt and the rest of the New Directions crew, "As the only person here other than Kurt who has actually hung out with Blaine before, I'm telling you guys that he's nothing like Jesse. Besides, he and Kurt have known each other for a while now. If he wanted to spy on New Directions, he could have done that before, but he didn't. And if he wanted to hurt us, why wouldn't he have tried to stop someone with Kurt's talent from coming back?" Kurt smiled at Mercedes, feeling immensely grateful to his best friend. He really had missed her.

"Can I say something?" Blaine finally spoke, taking a step into the room. "Look, I understand if you're all a bit hesitant to trust me right off the bat, and I don't blame you. If it's going to cause problems, I won't join Glee Club, but I really would like the opportunity to prove to you guys that I can be a part of the team."

"Well, that's good enough for me." Mr. Shuester finally stepped into the argument, settling it once and for all. "Of course, you'll still have to audition, just like everyone else."

"I understand. Actually, I have a song prepared, if I may?"

"Of course," Mr. Shue said, motioning for everyone to take their seats, which they did, some with more reluctance than others. Kurt sat in his usual seat, crossing his legs and waiting patiently as Blaine took some sheet music from his bag and handed it to the pianist. He had no idea that Blaine had been working on an audition piece for New Directions, in large part because he hadn't known Blaine would be transferring until that morning, and he was just as curious, if not more so, as everybody else in the room.

The pianist began to plink out the first few notes of a familiar song and Kurt found himself smiling before Blaine had even begun to sing.

.

_I'm not surprised, not everything lasts  
I've broken my heart so many times, I stopped keeping track  
Talk myself in, I talk myself out  
I get all worked up, then I let myself down  
I tried so hard not to lose it  
I came up with a million excuses  
I thought, I thought of every possibility_

_And I know some day that it'll all turn out  
You'll make me work, so we can work to work it out  
And I promise you, kid, that I give so much more than I get  
I just haven't met you yet._

_I might have to wait, I'll never give up  
I guess it's half timing, and the other half's luck  
Wherever you are, whenever it's right  
You'll come out of nowhere and into my life  
_

_And I know that we can be so amazing  
And, baby, your love is gonna change me  
And now I can see every possibility  
_

_And somehow I know that it'll all turn out  
You'll make me work, so we can work to work it out  
And I promise you, kid, I'll give so much more than I get  
I just haven't met you yet  
_

_They say all's fair  
In love and war  
But I won't need to fight it  
We'll get it right and we'll be united  
_

_And I know that we can be so amazing  
And being in your love is gonna change me  
And now I can see every single possibility  
_

_And someday I know it'll all turn out  
And I'll work to work it out  
Promise you, kid, I'll give more that I get  
Than I get, than I get, than I get_

_Oh you know it'll all turn out  
And you'll make me work so we can work to work it out  
And I promise you kid to give so much more than I get  
Yeah, I just haven't met you yet  
I just haven't met you yet  
Oh, promise you, kid  
To give so much more than I get_

_I said love, love, love, love  
Love, love, love, love  
I just haven't met you yet  
Love, love, love, love  
Love, love  
I just haven't met you yet_

.

Blaine's rendition of Michael Buble's "Haven't Met You Yet" was perfect! Granted, Kurt may have been a bit biased, but he was fairly sure that it wasn't just in his imagination, as even Rachel couldn't help but clap begrudgingly at the performance.

"I think that settles it!" Mr. Shue said, clapping a hand on Blaine's back. "Welcome to New Directions!" Kurt couldn't hide his grin at hearing these words. His first day back was turning out to be so much better than he'd hoped. Not only was he back in New Directions with all of his friends, but the boy he'd been trying so hard to keep in his life was here too. Today, life was good.

Blaine grabbed an extra chair and slid it onto the risers next to Kurt's, their shoulders brushing as he sat down. Kurt felt a small blush creep onto his neck. In the short time that they had known each other, Kurt had come to realize that Blaine was never one to shy away from physical contact, often sitting or standing very close to people. Sometimes Kurt thought that Blaine tended to do that more with him, but at the end of the day, he always chalked that up to wishful thinking.

"Alright class, this week's assignment is completely open. I don't want you guys to all sing about one theme. Instead, I want you to sing about something that you're feeling right now, whether that's something that's troubling you, something you're grateful for, or maybe even something you wish for. Your songs can be sung individually, duets, or in groups. That's all up to you, so start brainstorming, and then start practicing."

Kurt set his pen to paper, scribbling down three solo ideas right away. He mentally scrolled through his list of favorite songs, discarding most of them, but scribbling down a few more solos and one song he knew would be absolutely fabulous with Mercedes' vocals. Then, he flashed onto a duet that would be perfect with Blaine's voice. He froze, his pen half way through scribbling down the song's name. He remembered all the fuss there had been when he'd tried to sing a duet with Sam earlier that year. True, things were different with Blaine. For starters, Blaine was gay, so it's not like there would be any false rumors going around about his sexuality. There was also the fact that they'd already sung a duet together, so he was sure Blaine would be ok with the idea. Still, that hadn't been in public, and it definitely hadn't been in at McKinley.

Kurt's pen hovered over the song title for a moment, poised to scratch it out. He glanced at Blaine, who was absent-mindedly chewing on the end of his pen as he stared at the few lines he had written down. Kurt held back a smile as he watched him. For someone who always seemed so proper and well bred, Blaine had a lot of less than sophisticated habits. Chewing on his pen while he was thinking was one of them. Kurt tried to see what he had written without looking like he was trying to read Blaine's paper, but the boy had impossibly small handwriting.

"Alright," Mr. Shue said, interrupting Kurt's spying attempts. "Put away your ideas for now, because we're going to finish class with a song that I feel is particularly appropriate with Kurt's return today and an addition of a brand new member of Glee." Mr. Shue started handing out the music for their number. As Kurt waited for Mr. Shue to reach him, he closed his notebook, realizing as he did so that the duet he'd thought of for him and Blaine was still on the list. He still wasn't sure if it would be a good idea to ask him to do a duet, but he was glad he hadn't crossed it out. At least he could save that painful debate for later.

Kurt took the sheet music from Mr. Shue and was not surprised at all to see that it was a song from the 80's. Still, it was a good song. The pianist once again began to play and Mr. Shue got them started singing Dionne Warwick's "That's What Friends Are For."

* * *

"Kurt!" Kurt turned to see Blaine running slightly to catch up with him.

"Hey," Kurt said with a smile, "I'm just heading to the cafeteria to grab some of what unfortunately passes for food in this place. You coming?"

"Sorry, but I can't," he said with an apologetic smile. "I have to go to the office and sort out some things on my schedule that got kind of screwed up. But I wanted to catch you before, just in case I don't get a chance to talk to you again until school's out. I was wondering if you'd like to do a duet with me for Glee club."

Kurt just stared, trying to comprehend what Blaine was asking. A duet? Together? In front of the rest of the Glee Club? _Yes, Hummel_, he chastised himself. _What else would he mean by 'I was wondering if you'd like to do a duet with me for Glee club'?_

"I— well, what song were you thinking?" Blaine handed him a piece of sheet music.

"I really think our voices would sound great for this piece," he said, hitching his bag higher on his shoulder. Kurt was about to answer, when his eye caught sight of a letterman jacket heading straight for them. He stiffened, and his eyes flew to the boy's face. He relaxed a little when he saw that it wasn't Karofsky, but that relief was short lived as the football player reached out and shoved Blaine towards the lockers and, as a result, directly onto Kurt.

Blaine reacted quickly, putting his hands out on either side of Kurt to catch himself against the lockers. He paused to regain his balance, and Kurt's heart skipped a beat as he realized that Blaine's face was now only inches from his own. Even the jock's taunting call of, "Freakin' Homos!" couldn't completely distract Kurt from the position they were in. A second later, however, Blaine pushed himself away from the lockers, sending a glare down the hallway after the bully. By the time he turned back to him, Kurt had managed to regain his composure.

"You ok?" Blaine asked.

"Yeah, you?" Blaine shrugged.

"My pride's a little wounded, but I'll get over it." Kurt offered a little smile at that. He was mildly impressed at how little that incident had seemed to phase Blaine, but he was also sure that it had bothered him more than he was letting on right now. Kurt clutched the sheet music tighter in his hands, sure now that Blaine would realize that singing this duet together might hurt his reputation even more and back out of it. But as usual, Blaine surprised him.

"So what do you think about the song?" he asked, nodding to the slightly crinkled paper in Kurt's hand. "You up for it?" Kurt stared at the boy before him. He knew Blaine wasn't stupid. He had to know that singing this duet together would only make the bullying worse for him, and yet he still wanted to do it. Courage. Maybe there was something to that after all.

"Yes," Kurt said, his full smile finally returning to his face. "I would love to sing this duet with you."

"Great," Blaine placed a hand on Kurt's arm, communicating a silent "Thanks," before heading off down the hall in the direction of the office. "See you after school," he hollered over his shoulder.

Kurt let himself watch Blaine go for a few more seconds before shaking himself out of his love-struck stupor. He was really going to have to do something about this crush. But for now, he allowed himself to revel in those feelings as he thought about the duet they would soon be singing together. He quickly adjusted his bag and jacket, then headed towards the cafeteria, hoping to find Mercedes and share his good news.

* * *

AN: Well, I hope you all enjoyed that chapter. Be sure to tune in next week to find out what duet they will be singing and for another healthy dose of Blaine angs. (I feel like we really missed out on that in this chapter…)

But for those long cold nights between now and chapter 4, why not submit some nice, toasty reviews?


	4. CH 4: It Ain't Hard Trying

**I am terribly sorry for the delay in this update! While I was home for Christmas break, I didn't have internet, so I couldn't look up the lyrics for the duet. .**

**To make matters worse, not only did I get my wisdom teeth removed last week, but I had a cold when they did it! Apparently colds take twice as long to shake when your body is healing from something else too. *shakes head***

**But I'm back now, and it's duet time!**

**Ok, so the duet is really going to be much better if you guys are listening to the song while reading that part. (At least, I think it will be) So, if you don't have access to it on your own, here's a link. www. youtube. com/watch? v=euEwLVXcWKs (You'll have to remove the spaces after the periods and the question mark in there) Also, for all anyone who reads a lot of Darren Criss interviews, you might recognize this as the song he said he'd want to sing a duet to in the show. ^.^**

**(And after listening to it a dozen times while writing that duet, I have to say, I am really loving this song.)**

* * *

_Now I know it ain't easy_

_But it ain't hard trying_

_Every time I see you smiling_

_And I feel you so close to me_

* * *

Blaine walked down the hall, humming Kurt and his duet quietly under his breath. They'd practiced quite a bit on Monday and Tuesday, as they'd been asked to perform their piece on Wednesday after school. With the exception of Quinn and Mercedes, everyone else had chosen to do a solo piece, so they needed to start the performances early in the week if they wanted to get them all in.

And those few days of rehearsing had been amazing. Ever since they'd sung "Baby It's Cold Outside" before Christmas, Blaine had been dying to do another duet with Kurt. They'd had plenty of opportunity to sing together with the Warblers, of course, but there was just a different feel when it was just the two of them. It was so much more… intimate. Blaine knew that wasn't necessarily a good thing. He was supposed to be maintaining his friendship with Kurt, not causing awkward sexual tension between them. But somehow, when they were singing together, he really didn't care that he might be overstepping his boundaries.

Over the years, Blaine had mastered the art of ambiguity and mystery. He'd made a point of keeping his feelings and thoughts locked up to where only he could access them, carefully controlling what he allowed other people to see. There were only two things that had ever broken down that carefully constructed wall even a little bit: Kurt and singing. To have the two together, well, Blaine couldn't even describe how freeing that felt.

His humming was abruptly interrupted by a voice he was beginning to find ever increasingly grating.

"What's your angle?" Blaine turned to see Rachel standing next to her locker, hands on hips and glaring at him.

"I'm sorry?" Rachel grabbed his arm and dragged him to a mostly deserted part of the hallway. She spun around to face him, a bit more dramatically than was strictly necessary.

"Why are you really here? Is it to spy on us? Is it to try to break us, because I'll tell you right now, it's not going to work."

"I think you have the wrong idea—"

"Look, I know you've got Kurt sold, but I'm warning you, I've been down this road before and I know exactly where this kind of thing ends, and if you hurt Kurt in any way, you will be sorry. I know everyone thinks I only care about myself, but I care about this club too, and the people in it, and if you try for one second to bring us down, I will make sure you regret it for the rest of your life." During her speech, Rachel had inched closer and closer, so that by the end, she was only a few inches away from him, pointing an accusing finger at his chest.

"Rachel, relax," Blaine said, raising his hands in surrender, "I would never do anything to hurt Kurt or anyone else in New Directions. I promise." Rachel leaned back and crossed her arms across her chest, looking unconvinced.

"Then why are you here?"

"I'm here because I need to be, both for me and for Kurt. I didn't want Kurt to have to face the bullying here on his own—"

"He's not on his own. We're here for him, and we stand up for him." Rachel sounded hurt. "Besides, we all get bullied, and we're all in it together."

"I know that, but Rachel, you have to know that it's not the same. Lots of people get bullied in high school, but what Kurt is dealing with, it's more than just not fitting in."

"What do you mean?" Blaine bit his tongue, wondering if he'd already said too much. He knew that Kurt hadn't told any of his friends about Karofsky's death threat. They only found out when it came out to the principal. He was absolutely positive they still didn't know about the kiss.

"I really can't get into that, Rachel. I promised Kurt I wouldn't talk about it." That was more or less true. He hadn't given the promise directly to Kurt, but for Blaine, the promise was implicit in their friendship. Kurt had trusted him with a lot, and he wasn't going to betray that trust. If that meant that Rachel couldn't trust him, then so be it.

Rachel fixed him with a suspicious look, but didn't press the subject. "Fine. So what's your other reason?" Blaine blinked, taken aback.

"What other reason?"

"You said you needed to be here for Kurt and for you. If Kurt needs you, find, but why do you need him?" Blaine really was not in the mood to get into this now, especially not with Rachel. He was starting to get used to her, and most of the people in the Glee Club were great, but he wasn't ready to open up completely to them. Even telling Kurt about his bullying had been huge for Blaine, and he still wasn't sure what had made him do it. Sure, Kurt reminded him a lot of himself, and he had wanted to help him out, but it still surprised him that he'd told him as much as he had.

"It's personal," he said defensively.

"Are you in love with him?" That question threw him off. He liked Kurt, sure, but he'd been trying hard not to let exactly how much he liked him show. Right now, Kurt needed a friend, and Blaine wasn't going to jeopardize that friendship by trying anything. The fact that Rachel had brought it up, even if it was just a guess, made him uneasy.

"That's none of your business," he said, a bit more harshly than necessary. "But as a friend, he has really helped me to see what's important to me, and right now, that includes me coming back to a public school." Rachel looked like she was about to say something else, but Blaine cut her off. "Look, class is going to start soon, and I don't want to be late."

He brushed past her without giving her a second glance. This time as he walked down the halls, he didn't hum. He was much too distracted.

* * *

Kurt took a deep breath as he waited in the wings of the auditorium for the music to start. He glanced at the wings across the stage to where Blaine was waiting, and was rewarded with an encouraging smile. He looked handsome in his black slacks and navy button up shirt, accessorized with a pair of wide white suspenders. Kurt had never been a huge fan of suspenders, but seeing them on Blaine, he was beginning to change his mind. Kurt was dressed in the same color pallet, though he had opted for an asymmetrical zipped black vest in place of the suspenders, and he wore a white bowtie to complete the look.

Kurt had been ecstatic to have the chance to sing a duet with Blaine again, but now that their performance was here, he was back to feeling nervous about it. He wasn't sure how the rest of Glee club would take it, and he wasn't sure he was fully prepared for the inevitable fallout if the story somehow made it around to the rest of the school. And, knowing McKinley, it would. Still, with Blaine smiling at him like that, he found that his excitement outweighed his nervousness. This is what he'd wanted, after all, to sing with Blaine.

The music started, and Kurt took a deep breath, pushing all other thoughts out of his head and preparing to sing his heart out.

"The moment has come to face the truth." Blaine stepped onto the stage, his hands tucked casually into his pockets as he meandered to his position downstage right.

"I'm wide awake, and so are you." He pointed to someone in the audience and gave a wink on that last word.

"Do you have a clue what this is?"

"I don't know." Kurt stepped out of the wings, his hands behind his back and a coy look on his face, though he kept his eyes trained on the audience. He quickly spotted Mercedes and was relieved to see the grin on her face.

"Are you everything that I miss?"

"I don't hope so."

"We'll just have to wait and see."

"Wait, and see."

"If things go right, we're meant to be." Blaine and Kurt sand this line together, still looking at the audience until the words 'meant to be,' when they exchanged a brief smile.

"The surface is gone, we scratched it off.

We made some plans, and let them go." Kurt sang, looking once again at the audience, but slowly sauntering across the stage towards Blaine. He stopped when he reached him and leaned in.

"Do you have the slightest idea?"

"No, I don't." Blaine chimed in, closing his eyes and shaking his head.

"Why the world is bright with you here?"

"Oh, is that so?" Blaine leaned back from Kurt and smiled mischievously.

"Stay a while and wait and see." Kurt turned away and took a few steps, coy as ever.

"Wait, and see."

"If things go right we're meant to be." They sang together, glancing at each other again on the final phrase.

"Oh, what a world this life would be

Forget all your technicolour dreams

Forget modern nature

This is how it´s meant to be."

As they sang the chorus, they wandered toward each other, circling, but keeping their distance.

"The time is here for being straight." Blaine threw Kurt a wink at the inside joke from their practices.

"It's not too early and never too late

People say I should watch my pace." Blaine had wandered to center stage, where a long prop box lay, and sat down.

"What do they know?" Kurt shook his head with a bemused smile and joined him on the box, crossing his legs.

"Think how you spend all your days" Blaine leaned in a bit, but Kurt looked away in a seemingly indifferent display.

"They all say so."

"They'll just have to wait and see."

"Wait, and see."

"If things go right they'll have to agree." Singing this line together, both boys jumped to their feet, once again wandering down stage. This time, however, as they sang the chorus, they kept their eyes on each other, winding intertwining paths down to their next mark.

"Oh, what a world this life would be

Forget all your technicolor dreams

Forget modern nature

This is how it's meant to be."

Kurt put his hands on his hips and looked expectantly to Blaine. This was the part of their performance he had been the most worried about. Though Blaine had an amazing voice, his time with the Warblers hadn't done much for his dance skills, and he'd had to learn a lot in two days.

Sticking his hands in his pockets and scrunching his shoulders up a bit, Blaine tapped out the beat with his shoes in a simple, yet entertaining tap dance. He crossed one foot behind the other with his last beat, shooting a smile at Kurt, who picked up the beat with his own tap number. His feet moved in a bit more complicated patterns than Blaine's, and he kept his hands free to add a few sweeps and subtle movements to his performance. He finished his number with the same tap of one shoe behind the other that Blaine had, holding out his hand. Blaine took it and spun him across the stage to his other side.

"Do you have the slightest idea?" Blaine held out his hands beseechingly.

"No, I don't."

"Why the world is bright with you here?" He wandered closer to Kurt, hands once again in his pockets, as if what he was saying was the most casual thing in the world.

"Oh, is that so?" Kurt raised an eyebrow in mock skepticism.

"Stay a while and wait and see."

"Wait, and see."

"If things go right we're meant to be."

As they sang the chorus for the last time, Blaine and Kurt slowly strolled to opposite sides of the stage, once again looking at the audience. Kurt was pleased to see that Mercedes still looked thrilled, and most of the other Glee club members looked like they were enjoying the song as well.

"Oh, what a world this life would be

Forget all your technicolour dreams

Forget modern nature

This is how it's meant to be."

Having reached the edge of the stage, Kurt leaned back against the wall and looked up to see Blaine doing the same. Kurt, with his hands tucked behind his back, and Blaine, with his hands tucked into his pockets, watched each other as they sang the final words to the song.

"Forget modern nature

This is how it's meant to be."

The music faded and the auditorium erupted in applause. Kurt grinned at his friends, grateful to see all of them on their feet in a standing ovation, Mercedes clapping and cheering harder than anyone. Santana even let out a wolf whistle. Kurt laughed and glanced at Blaine, who was grinning back at him. This was heaven, Kurt realized. Even though his love for Blaine would probably never be fully reciprocated, at least he had a friend who was willing to sing with him and let the assumptions be damned. And then there were his other friends, whose applause was still ringing around the auditorium. Having their support and seeing them all together there reminded Kurt why he had missed McKinley so much while he was away.

* * *

"You know, I've got to admit, slushie facials are a lot worse than they sound. It's like instant brain freeze. I always thought you were over exaggerating."

"When do I over exaggerate?" Blaine let out a small laugh, smiling at Kurt's reflection. The boy's expression was completely serious, with the exception of a small wink in Blaine's direction, as he meticulously wiped every trace of the orange slushie from his face. The two boys were in the bathroom, cleaning themselves off after the attack that afternoon. Just as predicted, not 24 hours after the duet had taken place, word had spread, snide comments from the football team had been thrown with renewed force, and Blaine had received his very first slushie facial.

Blaine turned his gaze back to his own reflection. He looked a mess. He had already washed the red sugary streaks from his face, but it was possible that his shirt was completely ruined. Not that he was too concerned with that. Kurt had warned him not to wear anything that wouldn't survive a slushie attack today, and though he hadn't had the courage to wear a fashionable slicker (the couture rain gear looked fabulous on Kurt, but Blaine was fairly certain he could never pull off the look), he had worn a shirt he didn't really care about and stashed a back up in his bag. The real problem was his hair. Little colored chunks of ice coated the right side, and the sticky mess was sure to wreak havoc when it dried. With a resigned sigh, Blaine turned on the faucet and stuck his entire head underneath it.

He quickly scrubbed his hands through his hair, washing out the slushie, as well as all the hair product that normally kept each and every curl perfectly in place. When he was satisfied that his hair was finally clean, he turned off the faucet, squeezed the excess water out of his hair, and stood up straight.

The look on Kurt's face was priceless. The handkerchief he had been using was hovering in front of his face, as if he had frozen halfway through wiping slushie off his cheek; his eyes were wide and disbelieving.

"What?" Blaine asked, trying not to laugh at his expression.

"Nothing," Kurt said, finally snapping himself out of his stupor. "I just— I never seen you with messy hair. It's much curlier than I would have thought." Blaine glanced in the mirror, running a hand through the wet curls a bit self-consciously. He'd never been particularly fond of his hair. The curls were a pain, and it took him years to finally find a hairstyle that could put them even slightly under control.

"Not to worry," Kurt said brusquely, reaching into his bag to pull out several bottles of hair product. "We can fix you up in no time." Just then, the bell rang. "Or not."

Blaine quickly pulled the extra shirt out of his bag and slipped off the ruined one. Kurt politely averted his eyes, loading his belongings back into his bag, but though Blaine couldn't be sure, he thought he saw Kurt sneak a few glances his way. He slipped clean, plain white t-shirt over his head and stuffed the button up one to the bottom of his bag. Then he and Kurt practically ran to their next classes, hoping to minimize the tardy damage as much as possible.

* * *

Kurt stood by his locker, taking his time loading the books into his bag that he would need for tonight. Before closing the door, he let his eyes linger on the one decoration his locker still had: the word courage, crafted from letters cut from magazines. The picture of Blaine that used to hang above it was now gone. There were two reasons for that. 1. He didn't want to creep Blaine out. 2. Now that they were at the same school, Kurt got to see Blaine in person every day, so there was really no need for the picture to remind him to be courageous.

"Hey," a voice said from behind him. Kurt turned to see Blaine looking… well, quite honestly, looking amazingly hot! That is, more so than usual. Kurt was so used to seeing Blaine in his Dalton uniform with every hair in place. Even after transferring to McKinley, he had dressed mostly the same. He no longer wore the Dalton jacket and matching tie, but the button down shirts and nice slacks stayed, albeit in more varied tones than the whites and grays of Dalton. Usually, Blaine looked sophisticated and rather dapper. Right now, he didn't.

His hair was in tousled curls and, though Kurt was normally of the opinion that messy hair made a person look far less attractive, he was willing to admit that he was wrong here. Then there was the T-shirt. Try as he may have to give Blaine a bit of privacy when he was changing earlier, Kurt's eyes couldn't help but dart his way a few times. While he wasn't all rippling muscles, he was not in the least bit hard on the eyes. The white T-shirt he was wearing now showed off a particularly nice part of that body: his arms. As they were usually hidden under jacket sleeves, Kurt had never realized how toned they were.

One of those arms reached up to adjust the strap on his bag and Kurt suddenly realized he was staring. Again. This was the second time today that Blaine had caught him off guard, and Kurt was a bit (make that very) flustered by it.

"Hey," he said, trying to shake the dumbfounded look on his face and replace it with a cool smile. "I'm not used to seeing you look so casual." Blaine smiled and shrugged.

"I used to do the jeans and T-shirt look all the time, but I guess I've just gotten used to being a bit more formal when I go out." Kurt nodded.

"Well, you make the look work." Kurt turned away, partially to close his locker, and partially to cover the small blush that was creeping onto his cheeks. That compliment had sounded so suave in his head, but once the words had left his lips, he found himself worrying that the comment may have overstepped the bounds of friendship. He was relieved to hear Blaine laugh, and he when he looked back at his friend, he was running a hand through those gorgeous curls with a good humored smile on his face.

"Maybe I should try it out more often then."

"Queers." Kurt's head swiveled around, glaring in the direction of the whispered comment. He didn't recognize the speaker though. Glancing back at Blaine, he saw him frowning in the boy's direction, though his eyes looked miles away. Blaine turned back to Kurt, and it may have been his imagination, but he was sure he saw a deep pain behind those eyes. However, a second later, and Blaine's expression was back to happy.

"We still on to study French at your place today?" The mask was back in place, and Kurt found himself wondering if he would ever get to see it fall away completely.

"Oui." Kurt placed his bag over his shoulder, and together they made their way to the parking lot, discussing what songs they thought Glee Club should sing next.

* * *

**A/N: Oh I wish you guys could have seen that duet as it happened in my head. It was so much cuter in there than on paper (especially the tap number). That scene was so hard to write. .**

**Anyway, I predict you guys are going to love the next chapter (provided you've been enjoying the story up to this point, of course). ^.^ Why you ask?**

**1. Blaine meets Sue! (And it's going to be totally awesome.)**

**2. Karofsky returns! (Drama? What? I eat that for breakfast!)**

**3. Klaine kiss! That's right! It's almost here! (Actually, you guys are lucky it's here so soon. It wasn't supposed to be until chapter 7/8, but inspiration struck, and I needed those two love birds together a bit earlier than originally planned.)**

**Can you tell I'm excited for that chapter?**

**Also, if you haven't seen my other Klaine fics …. Well, this one really is the best, so you might not want to venture into my other stuff, but if you just can't get enough Klaine, check out Candy Klaine. The first chapter is just fluff and it's kind of really cheesey, but hopefully in a good way. I'm working on the second chapter (which is much longer than the first), which is more fluff and more cheesiness, but hopefully in an even better way than chapter one.**

**And that's it for this freakishly long author's note. See y'all next chapter!**

**(Oh, and as always, reviews are love! Even if you don't have anything new to say about the story, sending me a quick review lets me know that you're still with me and there are still some people crazy enough to read my stories. ^.^)**


	5. CH 5: Our Love is All We Need

**I have this problem. Every time I start writing one fanfic, I get inspired to write like six more. The bad news is I keep getting distracted from this one. The good news is that pretty soon, you'll all have a brand new Klaine fic to read (If you so choose… And I'm just going to throw this out there, but um… You should so choose to read this next one. It's better than the one you're reading now imho.), featuring an amazing song from an even more amazing musical that's sitting on my shelf right now… Anyway, be on the lookout for it. It's going to be totally awesome.**

**Also, fate stepped in today to give y'all this next chapter a few days early! The school I work at is having a snow day today (hooray for blizzards followed by freezing rain!), which means I didn't have to go into work, and I am now putting off writing my students' next midterm exam in order to finish up and post this chapter!**

* * *

And you tell me

Baby you're not alone

'Cause you're here with me

And nothing's ever gonna bring us down

'Cause nothing can keep me from loving you

And you know it's true

It don't matter what'll come to be

Our love is all we need to make it through

* * *

Blaine glanced in his rear view mirror, reaching a hand up to tug self consciously on one of his, for once, gel free curls. He'd spent the better part of an hour that morning trying to decide how to do his hair. Normally, he just gelled it into submission without a second thought, but after last night…

Blaine had gone over to Kurt's house to study French and ended up staying for dinner and a movie, just the two of them. His hair was still curly and untamed from the slushie facial that afternoon, and all night, Kurt could not seem to keep from touching it. They were innocent little touches: Kurt tugging on a curl to get him to pay attention to verb tense while studying, brushing a stray lock out of his eyes while they did the dishes, or ruffling his hair while watching Dirty Dancing and joking about 80's hair styles. When Blaine had gotten up to do his hair the next morning, he hesitated in his usual routine, remembering the feel of Kurt's soft hands brushing through his hair. He knew it was pathetic, and a little bit more than desperate, but he found himself wondering if he could get Kurt to repeat that behavior.

They were not a couple. Blaine knew that. He knew that they were not going to become a couple. They were friends, and they needed to stay friends if Blaine wanted to continue to be there for Kurt. At least, that's what he told himself over and over again. He couldn't risk their friendship. He didn't even know if Kurt liked him like that. Excuses, excuses, excuses, and they were all starting to sound less and less important, especially when Kurt's fingers were in his hair.

Blaine sighed. It was too late to change his mind now, anyway. He grabbed his bag and stepped out of his car, looking around to see if Kurt's SUV was there yet. He thought he spotted it across the lot. For the first few days that week, Blaine had just picked up Kurt on his way in to school, but finally, Kurt protested to this. His house was kind of out of the way for Blaine. Besides, Burt kept giving him suspicious looks when he showed up.

He always felt mildly offended when people assumed he was dating every guy he hung out with, just because he was gay, but he had his suspicions that maybe that wasn't why Burt acted weird around him. Ever since Rachel had accused him of being in love with Kurt, he'd started to notice more and more that he really did act different around him, and he certainly wasn't being as subtle as he'd originally thought.

* * *

Blaine checked his watch again. He and Kurt had plans to study again that afternoon, but Kurt had forgotten his French book and ran back inside to get it. Blaine was waiting patiently next to his car. At least, he was until about two minutes ago. Now he was still waiting, but it wasn't patiently. He found himself wondering if something had happened while Kurt was inside. Maybe he got another slushie in the face and he was in the bathroom cleaning himself up. Or maybe someone had taken it a step further. Blaine's stomach turned, as he remembered the day his own bullying had taken a turn for the worst. He shouldn't have let Kurt go by himself.

Blaine's feet were moving before he'd even decided to do anything, already taking him towards the school. He wasn't even half way there, however, when he saw Kurt walk out of the door, glancing up from his phone and giving a quick smile and wave. Blaine slowed his pace, but kept walking. He felt stupid now for freaking out.

Suddenly, a solid form came seemingly from out of nowhere, knocking him back hard against a dumpster. He was so surprised, that he almost didn't feel the sharp pain as a piece of rusty metal scraped across the back of his neck. Azumo and Karofsky stood before him, identical sneers of malice on their faces.

"You didn't think you were going to get away with just a little shove or a slushie in the face, did you, homo?" Blaine tried to arrange his face into the calm, collected mask that he'd always worn at Dalton, but he still felt himself shaking a bit. He remembered being thrown to the ground, the sharp grind of asphalt on his face as punches and kicks rained down on him two years ago, and he couldn't help but feel a tinge of fear that the same thing was about to happen to him now.

"Hey! Leave him alone!" Kurt came running onto the scene with a shout. He shoved Karofsky away from Blaine and took up a stance between him and the bullies. Blaine felt his heart swell with something he couldn't quite identify. He pushed himself away from the dumpster, standing next to Kurt, shoulder to shoulder, and looked at the bullies before them.

"I think you two should leave." He said, finally realizing what he was feeling: courage. To have Kurt standing here beside him, he felt stronger than he'd ever pretended to be at Dalton, and for once, he truly believed that they could get through this thing. Together. Azimo scoffed at Blaine's words.

"What? You think you two little gay boys can take us?"

"Of course they can't." The two bullies spun around. A tall woman sporting a tracksuit and short blond hair stood behind them, her hands on her hips. "Look at them. They're like twigs. I could snap them both with my pinky." She leveled a gaze at the two football players. Blaine felt a chill from the intensity of that look, and it wasn't even aimed at him. "But if you lay a finger on either of them, you'll have me to deal with." Karofsky and Azimo shifted their feet uncomfortably. "Now get out of here, both of you. You reek of sweat and defeat."

Karofsky and Azimo didn't need to be told twice. They walked away quickly, tossing resentful glances back over their shoulders at Kurt and Blaine. The woman watched the two bullies scurry off, and then turned back to the boys still standing before her.

"Porcelain? Poodle? You two alright?" Kurt glanced at Blaine, a small smile playing at his lips.

"I'm Porcelain, so I guess that makes you Poodle." Blaine tugged at his hair self-consciously, looking between the bemused expression on Kurt and the stony face of the woman he could only assume was Sue Sylvester. It was the tracksuit that gave her away. He'd heard a lot about the cheerleading coach from Kurt, and it was enough to know that the nickname wasn't anything personal.

"I guess I've been called worse," he shrugged. "And yeah, I'm fine. Kurt?"

"I'm fine. Thank you coach. Thanks for looking out for us."

"Good. Now if you'll excuse me, this conversation is boring me and I have some Cheerios to whip into shape." They watched her march off towards the Cheerios on the football field, and Blaine caught the words, "Awful! You think that's hard," before she was too far away to hear properly. Then he turned to Kurt.

"Poodle? Is it really that bad?" Kurt burst out laughing. Blaine waited patiently for him to stop. Truth be told, he was a bit hurt by his friend's response. Kurt was shaking his head now and the laughter seemed more under control.

"No," Kurt said. He reached over and tousled a few of his curls and Blaine's breath caught in his throat. "They look great. That's just Sue." Suddenly, the smile dropped completely from Kurt's face. "Oh my god! Blaine!" Kurt was staring at his shirt collar. Blaine reached up to see what was wrong with it and found something wet. He pulled back his hand and saw blood staining his fingers. That scratch he'd felt when the bully shoved him must have been deeper than he thought. Kurt pulled the collar down and leaned in to get a better look.

"It doesn't look like it will need stitches, but it's a bad cut. We should get it cleaned up right away." Kurt said, letting go of the collar. Blaine winced as it brushed against his wound. "Come on," Kurt held up his keys, giving them a little shake. "I'll drive."

* * *

Blaine examined the cut in the mirror on Kurt's vanity. It wasn't deep, but the edges were red and swollen. He wondered if he should go in and get a tetanus shot, just in case. He could clean the cut, sure, but he shuddered to think of what kind of bacteria that dumpster had been covered with.

"Alright, turn around and let's get you cleaned up," Kurt said, coming down the stairs. His hands were filled with supplies, and it looked like he had raided the entire medical cabinet. Blaine obliged, standing up and repositioning himself so that he was straddling the backrest on his chair; His arms laid folded across the top of it. Kurt dumped his cache onto his counter and pulled a stool up so that he could sit close enough to both Blaine and the counter to do his work.

Kurt started sorting through the things on the counter, but Blaine kept his eyes on Kurt's profile. After a minute or so, Blaine realized he was staring and quickly turned away. What was wrong with him? Couldn't he stay in the same room with Kurt for more than five seconds without being completely obvious about how much he wanted him? Blaine was so lost in his thoughts, that he didn't even notice what Kurt was doing, and he flinched as something wet touched his neck, making the wound sting sharply.

"Relax," Kurt said, sounding a little hurt, though Blaine had no idea why. "It's just a moist toilette." This time, Blaine forced himself to hold still as Kurt gently wiped the cut clean.

"I'm really sorry about all this, Blaine."

"What do mean?"

"If I hadn't insisted on coming back, neither of us would have been attacked today. It's my fault you got hurt." Blaine reached over his shoulder, taking hold of the hand Kurt was using to tend to Blaine's injury. Kurt's eyes were downcast, and Blaine scrunched his head down a bit, trying to capture the younger boy's gaze.

"No. It wasn't your fault. It was the fault of those bullies and nobody else. We haven't done anything wrong. You coming back here let me finally face my fears and find my courage. It allowed me to be myself." Kurt still wasn't looking at him, his eyes fixed resolutely on the floor. It wasn't until a drop of moisture landed on the hand that was holding Kurt's that Blaine realized the boy was crying.

"Hey," he said, lifting Kurt's chin so that he would look at him. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing. Absolutely nothing. It's just that… that's how I felt about you when we first met, and now to hear that you feel like that about me… well, let's just say it's kind of hard to believe." He gave a weak smile, brushing the tears from his cheeks.

"It shouldn't be. Kurt, you're amazing. You inspired me. You still do. Every day, how strong you are… I look into your eyes and I can see that strength and I realize that I can have that strength too, as long as I'm with you." It occurred to Blaine that he may have shared too much, but in that moment, with Kurt's beautiful tear filled eyes staring at him, he really didn't care. He just wanted to be perfectly honest with him.

Kurt leaned closer, and in one heart pounding second, Blaine realized what was coming. Kurt's lips pressed against his. Blaine sat there frozen, trying to figure out if this was some sort of concussion induced hallucination, but as he felt those lips press onto his, he realized that he didn't care. Kurt was kissing him.

* * *

He shouldn't have kissed him. With every inch his body moved forward, his brain screamed at him to stop, screamed at him not to ruin this friendship, but his body wasn't listening. And then he was kissing him, kissing Blaine, and Blaine was kissing him back. Every thought of what he should or shouldn't do just slipped away as Kurt melted into that kiss.

Kurt moved a hand to the back of Blaine's head, lacing his fingers through those messy curls and deepening the kiss. Blaine moaned into his mouth, and Kurt just couldn't believe his luck, that he was actually kissing this gorgeous, perfect boy before him.

Blaine pulled back a bit, resting his forehead on Kurt's, his eyes still closed. "I love it when you touch my hair," he whispered. His voice was so soft that Kurt almost missed it. Almost. He grinned, threading his other hand into Blaine's hair and pulling him in for another kiss.

* * *

**Well, that's it for chapter 6! Hope you all enjoyed it. ^.^**

**Next chapter: Happy Klaine, followed quickly by drama, drama, drama, and more drama! (Oh come on, you know they couldn't be too happy for too long. ;)**


	6. CH 6: I Trip and Stumble

**I just want to say, there's nothing quite like logging on to your email the day after posting a new chapter and seeing 20 new messages about Story Alerts, Reviews, and Favorites. It really kind of just makes my day. ^.^**

**So thank you to everyone of you who constantly let me know in some way (by favorites, alerts, or reviews) that you're still with me and still at least rooting for me to keep going.**

**And to all my stealthy ninja readers who leave no trace of their presence here reading this story… You're all the way up to chapter 6! Surely you could take a moment to fav, alert, or review, just to let me know you're there, yeah? Because in all honesty, you're kind of creeping me out with the whole silent and invisible thing…**

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* * *

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CH 6

I still have trouble

I trip and stumble trying to make sense of things sometimes

I look for reasons

But I don't need 'em

All I need is to look in your eyes

And I'll realize

* * *

The next week was one of the best seven days of his life. Kurt couldn't get over the fact that he was finally, _finally_, dating Blaine Anderson. Over the past year, he'd started to think that he may never get a boyfriend, or at least not until he got out of Lima. It seemed like every time he liked someone, something got in the way. Finn was straight. Sam was… well, to be honest, Kurt still wasn't completely sure that Sam was straight, but whatever the case of his sexuality, he was still dating Quinn.

And then there had been Blaine. Blaine was gay, which was progress as far as potential boyfriends went, but they had quickly settled into the rolls of friendship/mentorship. That relationship had been far too important to Kurt to risk taking things any further, but somehow, without him even trying, they'd ended up as boyfriends.

Kurt thought it would have been awkward to make that switch, but it really wasn't. The day after their first kiss, Blaine met Kurt by his locker, took his hand, and walked with him to the choir room, the two of them chatting happily about Glee club drama and what songs they thought the remaining five Glee club members would be singing that day. Things were completely normal, except for the little things. Blaine held his hand in between classes, and when he whispered little jokes to Kurt's during Glee club, he leaned closer than was strictly necessary, blushing his lips softly across Kurt's ear. And instead of Kurt looking away whenever Blaine caught him staring, and vice versa, they simply shared a knowing smile before turning back to their work.

It wasn't until Kurt said goodbye to Blaine after choir that morning and Mercedes, Quinn, and Rachel cornered him that he even realized he still hadn't told anyone they were dating.

"Ok, spill," Mercedes said, crossing her arms and looking at Kurt expectantly. The other two girls adopted the same pose, and Kurt would have laughed if he wasn't sure at least one of them would smack him for it. Kurt couldn't keep the smile off of his face as he turned back to his locker, switching out his folder of sheet music for his French book.

"There's not much to say, really." He said smugly, closing the locker and making his way towards class, all three girls following along in rapt attention. "Blaine was over last night. We kissed. Now we're together." He tried to come across as casual, but he was sure the giant smile plastered to his face was a dead giveaway to how he was really feeling.

"Why are we all just hearing about this now?" Quinn asked, shooting a suspicious look at Mercedes.

"Don't look at me. I didn't know either." Mercedes looked a little hurt, and Kurt instantly regretted waiting until now to tell her anything. "Why didn't you text me or something?" Mercedes added in a softer, yet still accusatory tone. It wasn't that he had consciously decided not to tell her. It was just kind of late when Blaine finally left, and Kurt was still stuck on the euphoric high of finally being together with the most perfect boyfriend he could have possibly dreamed up. Plus, if he was being completely honest with himself, he still hadn't been entirely sure that it wasn't all a dream that he would wake up from the next morning. Still, Mercedes was his best friend, and she deserved to be kept in the loop.

"I'm sorry," he said, placing a hand on Mercedes' arm. "I should have called you. I promise though, we'll get together this weekend and I'll give you all the details." He leaned down and placed a quick peck on her cheek before striding gracefully into French class and taking a seat. Nothing could spoil his mood today, not even hearing Rachel whisper to the other girls, "I'm happy for him, but is this really the best thing for Glee Club?" Kurt was happy to hear a small squeal of pain as one of the girls, probably Mercedes, smacked Rachel. Then the three of them were gone, scattering to their various classes, and Kurt was left alone to happily contemplate exactly how he and Blaine would be spending that weekend.

* * *

Maybe he had been wrong to expect something different. On Friday, he and Blaine had definitely been closer at school, but they weren't all over each other. Neither one of them saw the need to be _that_ couple. But then the weekend came. Blaine had spent most of the weekend in Kurt's basement under the guise of studying. And to be honest, they did try to study. It only lasted about five minutes, but they tried.

The problem was, they just couldn't seem to keep their hands off each other. By the time Monday rolled around, Kurt's lips were the closest they'd come to being chapped in the last seven years. Not that he was complaining or anything. He was happy that their relationship was moving to the next level. But then Monday arrived, and he started having doubts.

Kurt thought he and Blaine would have slipped in a few kisses here and there, maybe even sneaking into an empty classroom to make out at least once that week, but by Friday, he was disappointed to find that things really hadn't changed at all from that first day they were together. After school was always a different story. Sometimes they would hang out with Mercedes and their other friends in New Directions. Sometimes they would grab dinner at Breadstix or catch a movie. But inevitably, they always ended up at one of their houses, picking up exactly where they had left off the weekend before.

Kurt really wouldn't have minded. It wasn't like things were going badly with Blaine. It just wasn't what he had expected. He thought once he found a boyfriend, he could finally have relationships that were just like everyone else's. Granted, he always hoped his relationships wouldn't be filled with half as much drama as the rest of his friends', but he wanted something... normal. He wasn't sure what was going on with him and Blaine, but he was pretty sure that things weren't normal.

At first, he didn't say anything. He convinced himself he was reading too much into things. But finally, he couldn't keep his thoughts to himself any longer. It was Sunday evening, and the two boys were sitting on the couch in Kurt's basement, Blaine's arm wrapped around Kurt's shoulders. His hand traced small circles across the front of Kurt's shoulder and chest, making it much more difficult to concentrate on the movie. Kurt briefly wondered if that was the point. They'd been on their best behavior so far that night, just sitting close and watching the musical, humming along and singing some of the songs lightly under their breath.

Kurt watched the faint movement of Blaine's lips as he softly sang the words of _Come What May_ along with the rest of the characters belting out the marvelous final number of the movie. He loved when Blaine sang. Even when it was just in this soft, casual way, he always seemed more… open, more himself.

"Why don't you ever open up to me?" Blaine stopped singing immediately, blinking in surprise. He wasn't the only one who was surprised. Kurt kicked himself mentally for saying that out loud. He wasn't planning on it. It just sort of slipped out. But now that he'd said it, Kurt couldn't bring himself to take it back. He honestly wanted to know.

* * *

"Why don't you ever open up to me?" That had been the last thing Blaine ever thought Kurt would say right now. Things had been going great lately, so this just seemed… completely out of the blue.

"What are you talking about? I open up to you all the time."

"Yeah, but it's always about trivial things, nothing really serious. I just…" Kurt trailed off, pressing his lips together for a moment as if collecting his thoughts. "I wish I knew more about you than just what your favorite sports teams and vogue covers are."

"There's not a lot to know, really." Blaine tried to shrug it off.

"See? There you go again, just pushing me away."

"Come on Kurt, can't you just drop this?"

"No." Kurt sat up straighter, and Blaine's hand dropped from his shoulder. "You know, when I found out you were coming to McKinley, I was so happy. I thought, finally, I won't be alone anymore. But I'm just as alone now as I was before."

"Kurt, that's not true—"

"Yes it is," Kurt insisted. "Because as much as I love having you here Blaine, it isn't you. I thought, when we were at Dalton, that you just acted more reserved because that's how things were there, but now I know, it's not just Dalton. You can't be yourself around anyone else, and it kills me, because you won't even be yourself for me. You're just hiding behind this mask of being completely normal, and it just makes me feel like I stand out even more."

"Maybe that mask isn't a bad thing. Maybe if you tried it once in a while, Karofsky wouldn't be in your face all the time." Kurt immediately paled, and Blaine knew he had gone too far.

"Kurt, I didn't mean—"

"Yes you did. All you do is hide, so why should I be surprised that you want me to do the same thing?" Blaine swallowed, trying not to show how much that comment hurt him. He tried to think of something to say, but all he wanted to do was get out of that room, get away from that argument and… and hide away from Kurt's all to accurate assessment of him. He stood up and grabbed his coat.

"Maybe I should go. I'll see you at school tomorrow, Kurt." He made to leave, but as his hand touched the railing on the stairs, he heard Kurt's voice from behind him and froze.

"Maybe I should be thanking you. You've finally let me see what's behind the mask, and it's nothing more than a scared little boy who runs away from anything difficult." Blaine's knuckles whitened as he gripped the railing, feeling all the resentment he'd kept bottled up for years at his actions come flooding back to him. Kurt was right. All he did was run away, and he was doing it again. He was doing it right now, but he couldn't stop himself, couldn't bring himself to just face Kurt and finish this damn argument. He felt the rage boiling in the pit of his stomach. Deep down he knew it was just anger at his own actions, but right now, that rage was spreading through him, and he couldn't help but be pissed off at Kurt for being the one to bring it to the surface.

"Go to hell, Kurt." The words were out of his mouth before he'd even realized he was going to say them. He felt a brief tinge of regret, but it was quickly squashed out by his anger.

"Hell? I just realized that every good thing I thought about you was a lie, and I'm completely alone in all this. Believe me. I'm already there." Blaine forced himself to let go of the railing, and he climbed the stairs without another word. He had to get out of there.

* * *

Blaine sat on his bed and stared at the jacket that hung, as always, in the middle of his closet. When he left Dalton, he thought about getting rid the thing, but something stopped him. Dalton had been a large part of his life, and he wasn't quite ready to let go of it. Dalton was the first place Blaine had felt like he wasn't being singled out for his sexuality. Nobody was going to attack him for being gay. If was safe. He had finally been able to accept that part of him, and actually grow to be confident about it. To get rid of his uniform felt almost like a betrayal of everything that school had done for him.

But that didn't explain why the jacket was still hanging in his closet. He could have put it in one of the many boxes his parents kept in storage, filled with clothing and trinkets from throughout his childhood. He could have stored it under his bed with the hideous sweaters his grandmother bought him every year or his old textbooks. Blaine wasn't one to put things off and he prided himself on being organized. So what was the jacket still doing in his closet, front and center?

Blaine walked over to the closet and reached out to run his fingers across the red trim and gold buttons. As he traced the embroidered "D" on the pocket, he realized why the jacket was still there. These past two weeks at McKinley had been better than he hoped, mostly because of Kurt's presence there, but things had still been rough. Karofsky and Azimo hadn't made any more trouble for Kurt and Blaine recently, at least not any more than usual. But the snide insults and none too subtle shoves in the hallways were a constant reminder that people like them were not welcome in that school. Despite his resolve not to leave Kurt to face those things alone, Blaine realized now that deep down, he never thought he'd be staying at McKinley.

Last time the bullying had gotten out of hand, Blaine had run. The fact that his Dalton blazer was still hanging there was evidence enough of Blaine's doubts about whether he would run again. He wanted to have courage. He really did. He just didn't have faith that he could actually pull it off. Even on his first day at McKinley, he had doubted his resolve. That was why he had driven all the way to Kurt's house. It wasn't because he wanted to surprise Kurt or tell him before anyone else found out. It was because he didn't think he would be able to walk into that school with Kurt at his side.

Kurt had always been a source of courage for him. Blaine had never been the night in shining armor. He was perfectly content to sit back and let other people handle their own problems. But Kurt made him want to be the hero. He made him want to make everything all right. He made him want to be better than who he was.

Blaine tore the coat from its hanger, folding it sloppily as he made his way towards his bed. He pulled out the box of hideous sweaters and shoved his jacket on top, quickly closing the lid and sliding it back under his bed. When he was done, he let loose the breath he didn't know he'd been holding. He had so much to be thankful to Dalton for, but that was behind him now. He had to start fresh. He had to let go of all the things that were holding him back and find a way to be his own person.

But first, he had to patch things up with Kurt. He had to let Kurt know how much he inspired him. He had to let Kurt know that he was willing to work at their relationship and to grow and stand next to Kurt through anything. The only problem was that he had no idea how he would do that.

He slumped into his desk chair, propping his chin on his hand. This was going to be a challenge. His eyes slid over the books and few DVDs on the shelf next to his desk, hoping for inspiration. One DVD in particular caught his attention. He picked up the case and turned it over, a smile slowly spreading across his face. Perfect.

* * *

**This chapter was a BITCH to write. I mean, seriously. I hate fights, especially fights about little things that shouldn't be a big deal and you know that they shouldn't be a big deal, and yet… they are. Fights like that make me feel horrible about myself and I try to feel better by taking it out on the other person, which of course only actually makes it worse. But you get sucked into this moment where you know everything you're doing is only going to make things worse, but you can't help it. You don't care, and sometimes you even want to feel worse for whatever masochistic reason is lurking just under the surface of all your issues.**

**They're not fun fights.**

**Anyway, I try not to get into those or even think about them in real life, so it was a real challenge trying not only to get myself into the mindset of one of those fights, but also trying to get the characters into that mindset. I'm still not entirely happy with how this chapter turned out, but... meh. I'm calling it quits so that I can move on to the next one, which will be much more fun to write. (Plus, I'm determined to finish this fic before Glee returns from it's hiatus.)**

**Next Chapter: Something to brighten your mood. And maybe perhaps definitely another song. ^.^ (And also a fun throwback to a classic 90's teen movie. Bonus points if you can guess which one.)**


	7. Ch 7: Nothing's Ever Gonna Bring Us Down

**Three things to start out with…**

**1. I have an apology regarding the last chapter. Chapter 6 was giving me a lot of trouble, so when I finally finished it, I was just so sick of looking at it that I posted without doing my final proof reading. It was pointed out to me in one of the reviews that there were several distracting spelling errors and the like, so I have gone back and edited that chapter to fix those things and promise not to post without my final proof reading ever again. I know how distracting stuff like that can get, and I really am writing this story for all of you to enjoy, so I'm going to try my hardest to clean up my chapters before I post them.**

**2. One of my lovely reviewers guessed the movie! Of course, you'll still have to read on to find out what it is…**

**3. Sorry this chapter is so short. I tried to think of ways to flush it out a bit, but nothing hit me. On the bright side, only two more chapters and they will both be up no later than next Friday! (That's right! Three updates in less than a week! It will probably be a record for me . . . . ) They're kind of short too, but hopefully enjoyable enough to make up for that.**

* * *

Baby you're not alone  
'Cause you're here with me  
And nothing's ever gonna bring us down  
'Cause nothing can keep me from loving you  
And you know it's true  
It don't matter what'll come to be  
Our love is all we need to make it through

* * *

Blaine waited by the row of lockers, fiddling with his pocket watch and checking the time every twenty seconds. There was still a half an hour before classes started, and he was pretty sure that Kurt wouldn't be at school for at least fifteen minutes, but he was still nervous. He didn't want to run into him too early. Blaine had a plan and he was sticking to it. Finally, he spotted the person he was looking for.

"Artie," he called, pushing himself away from the lockers and taking a few steps to meet him. He opened his mouth to say something more, but faltered. He hadn't actually thought of how he was going to ask this of Artie. He just knew that he needed his help. "Look, uh, I was hoping to ask a favor of you."

Artie looked him up and down with a coldness that Blaine hadn't expected. Sure, he wasn't BFFs with everyone in New Directions yet, but he liked Artie and he thought they had at least become friends.

"I have nothing to say to you." Artie maneuvered his chair around Blaine and continued over to his locker. Blaine turned to face him, his brain still trying to process what was going on.

"Are you angry with me?" he finally managed to ask. Artie didn't look at him as he opened his locker and started transferring books between his bag and locker.

"Kurt told Mercedes about your fight. She told Tina, and Tina told me. You seem like a pretty nice guy, but Kurt and I have been friends for much longer, so my loyalties lie with him."

"Well, that's actually what I wanted to talk to you about," Blaine said, leaning up against the locker next to Artie's. "I know I screwed up, and I wanted to make it up to Kurt, but I need your help." Artie looked up at him, suspiciously.

"How?" Blaine smiled. Now that he had Artie talking, he was sure that he could convince him.

"I've got it all planned out. Mind if we take the rest of this conversation to the AV room?"

* * *

Mercedes had been trying to pull Kurt into Tina's and her conversation for a while now, but he hadn't been particularly enthusiastic about anything they'd brought up. He was too upset about everything that had happened with Blaine. He wasn't sorry for the things he'd said. He meant every word of it. But that didn't make the fight any less depressing. To make matters worse, Blaine hadn't been in class this morning. Granted, Kurt hadn't really wanted to see him. He was still much to upset about what had happened the night before, but now he felt a bit guilty that this fight may have made Blaine leave Glee. He knew how much the other boy loved to sing, and Kurt didn't want to be the reason he couldn't do so with New Directions.

Of course, it may have been a good thing Blaine wasn't there, at least for that morning. The story of his and Blaine's fight had made it all around the gossip circle and almost everyone had spent the first five minutes of class assuring Kurt that he could do better than Blaine. To be honest, it hadn't done much to cheer him up. Thankfully, that was all interrupted by Artie rolling in just past the tardy bell and offering a quick apology to Mr. Shue, who then launched into their assignment for the week. It was a big dance number, much to Kurt's disappointment. It wasn't that he didn't like dancing. He just wasn't feeling particularly in the mood for that this week, what with everything that had happened.

Kurt didn't know what he'd been trying to accomplish with confronting Blaine. Did he expect him to completely open up then and there, telling Kurt his entire life story and exactly why he never seemed capable of being himself or showing more affection for Kurt in public? He just had to accept the fact that he and Blaine were different, and there was never going to be anything between them. That was what hurt the most. He hadn't just lost a boyfriend. He had lost one of his best friends too.

It was that gloomy thought that was preventing Kurt from really hearing anything Mercedes and Tina were saying right now, as he nudged the limp leaves of salad around his plate. They had been talking between themselves for about five minutes, and Kurt had absolutely no idea what the subject was.

There was a break in the conversation, and Kurt looked up, wondering if they had said something to him and trying to figure out how best to convey the fact that he could care less about whatever it was. But the two girls weren't looking at him. They were looking at something over his shoulder. Mercedes was grinning, and Tina looked a bit shocked. A few people at the tables past them were looking in the same direction, and conversation through the entire cafeteria was starting to die down. Before Kurt could turn to look for the cause of this disruption of the McKinley lunchroom's normal chaos, he heard a very familiar voice, amplified above it's normal volume, yet still sounding soft and low.

"You're just too good to be true.  
Can't take my eyes off you.  
You'd be like Heaven to touch.  
I wanna hold you so much."

Kurt slowly turned in his chair, and there, standing on one of the tables across the room, was Blaine, holding a cordless microphone and looking directly at him.

"At long last love has arrived  
And I thank God I'm alive.  
You're just too good to be true.  
Can't take my eyes off you."

Blaine stepped down from the table onto a bench, walking to the end before hopping off of that and onto the floor, all the while making a slow progression across the room towards Kurt.

"Pardon the way that I stare.  
There's nothing else to compare.  
The sight of you leaves me weak.  
There are no words left to speak,"

Kurt stared at Blaine, who was now almost halfway across the room. The gears in his mind were stuck, trying to battle it out between the different feelings raging through his head. He was shocked at seeing Blaine being so public about this when he'd done nothing but hide since they came to McKinley. He was also more than a little bit giddy at the fact that Blaine was singing him a love song.

"But if you feel like I feel,  
Please let me know that it's real.  
You're just too good to be true.  
Can't take my eyes off you."

The giddiness won out over the shock, as Blaine jumped onto a table and threw his head back to sing the chorus.

"I love you, baby,"

People hastily moved their lunches out of the way as Blaine strode down the long table, singing his heart out.

"And if it's quite alright,  
I need you, baby,  
To warm a lonely night.  
I love you, baby.  
Trust in me when I say:"

Blaine did a little spin and jumped from the table. He was only a few feet away from Kurt now, and he couldn't keep the blush from his face as Blaine approached.

"Oh, pretty baby,  
Don't bring me down, I pray."

Blaine dropped to his knees, and if Kurt hadn't been so fixated on his boyfriend's eyes (Yes, boyfriend. He was pretty sure this meant Blaine wanted him back, and Kurt definitely wanted Blaine back.), he probably would have been horrified with the thought of him kneeling on the dirty cafeteria floor.

"Oh, pretty baby,"

Blaine jumped to his feet again, closing the distance between the two of them. He took Kurt's hand and pulled him to his feet.

"Now that I found you, stay  
And let me love you, baby.  
Let me love you."

The music continued to play, but Blaine didn't sing the next verse, or the chorus. His mouth was a bit busy, considering Kurt had just pulled him into a kiss. He didn't care who saw. He didn't care what they thought. And by the fact that Blaine was kissing him back just as fiercely, he knew that Blaine didn't care either.

* * *

**And the movie was…? 10 Things I Hate About You! For those of you who haven't seen that movie… have you been living under a rock or something? Go out and buy it right now and watch it. It's amazing. The song Blaine sings to Kurt in this chapter was sung by Patrick (played by Heath Ledger) as a sort of apology to Kat (played by Julia Stiles). It's pretty much my absolute favorite instance of a character singing a song in a movie that is not a musical.**

**Anyway, as usual, I love any kind of feedback. I even like negative feedback. Actually, no. That's a lie. I don't really like it, but I know I need it if I want to get better, and I do like improving my writing. So if there's something you don't like, let me know. I'd appreciate it if you did it at least kind of nicely, but I'm open to criticism. Throw it out there!**


	8. CH 8: To Make it Through

**I was hoping to get this chapter posted yesterday, but I got distracted by all the spoilery Klaine stuff flying around tumblr. . Anyway, here's chapter 8! Chapter 9 will either be posted sometime later today or tomorrow morning. (I can't make any guarantees for tonight, because Supernatural is FINALLY returning from it's hiatus! Or helliatus as we call it in that fandom…) **

**In addition to the final chapter of this fic, either today or tomorrow I will be posting a fic I've been working on for a while now, called Rivals for Your Affections. If you liked Not Alone, you'll probably like Rivals. It's a lot more angsty, but (imho) the story is also a lot more exciting. **

**Also, in the near future, hopefully this weekend, I will be posting the prologues for two Crack!fics for Klaine! They both have crazy pretenses, but they'll be sweet and wonderful, so keep an eye out for those if you're interested.**

* * *

Oh cause you're here with me

And nothing's ever gonna bring us down

Cause nothing, nothing, nothing can keep me from loving you

And you know it's true

It don't matter what'll come to be

You know our love is all we need

Our love is all we need

To make it

Through

* * *

Kurt sighed contentedly. He was stretched out on the couch in his room with Blaine lying next to him, half of his body tucked against the back of the couch and the other half draped over Kurt. They were kissing each other with slow, lazy, open-mouthed kisses. Before, their make out sessions had always been about excitement and passion, but this one was different. There was no sense of urgency or need. There was nothing but pure adoration for each other in each and every sweet kiss.

After a while, Blaine pulled back, dropping his head to Kurt's chest and wrapping his arms more tightly around his boyfriend. Kurt missed the press of Blaine's mouth on his, but this was nice too, so he didn't complain. He simply placed a light kiss on the top of Blaine's head, bringing up a hand to comb through those messy curls he loved.

"Kurt," Blaine said softly, his voice slightly muffled from his mouth being pressed against Kurt's shirt. "About before."

"What before?"

"The fight we had."

"Oh. What about it?"

"I think I should explain myself."

"You don't have to," Kurt shifted positions, trying to look at Blaine's face. Blaine, however, kept his cheek pressed firmly to Kurt's chest.

"I know. But I want to." Kurt didn't say anything. He just waited. "I told you about running away from my bullies and how that's something that I struggled with for a long time, feeling like I was just hiding from my aggressors." He paused, taking a deep breath and tucking his head even more firmly into Kurt's chest.

"I told myself that it wasn't hiding. I was just starting fresh at a place where people would accept me for who I was. And I think most of the time I believed that. But deep down, I knew I was hiding, and I knew that people just weren't going to accept the real me. At Dalton, I didn't have to be straight to fit in, but I still had to fit the mold. So I did. I didn't ever want to feel like I did at my old school, so I hid bits of myself, pushed them aside, and just tried to be who I had to be. I didn't even realize I was doing it." Finally, Blaine looked up at Kurt, his eyes so full of emotion that it nearly took Kurt's breath away. It was the same way Blaine looked at Kurt when he first told him about being bullied. His expression was open and genuine, and he was holding nothing back.

"And then I met you, and you were so wonderfully and amazingly different. And you were broken, just like me, but as much pain as you felt, you still weren't hiding who you were. I think that's what drew me to you first." He ducked his head again. "It's hard for me, Kurt. I've been hiding behind walls for so long that I'm not even sure what's me and what's just part of this façade I've built up. And to be honest, I'm not even sure I want to be me sometimes. I'm still afraid of going back to how things were before, of being alone. Especially when it comes to you. I know it sounds needy and corny, but I don't want to loose you."

"You won't loose me," Kurt promised, leaning forward to place another kiss against Blaine's bowed head. "I love you." Blaine looked up at him, smiling. He placed a kiss on the bottom of Kurt's jaw.

"I love you too," he whispered.

"Then that's all we need. You can be yourself around me, and it honestly won't change the way I feel about you."

"Not even if I started wearing ratty T-shirts and cheap sunglasses and grew my hair out in curly mop that would put any homeless man within a thousand blocks to shame?" His tone was serious, but there was a small smile curling at the edges of Blaine's mouth.

"Not even then," Kurt stated resolutely. There was a small pause. "But you're not going to do that, right?" Blaine laughed, his chest shaking against Kurt's.

"No. I don't know exactly who I am, but I'm pretty sure I'm not that guy."

"Good, because it would be really difficult to get my outfit to match that look."

* * *

School had been out for an hour or so, but the members of New Directions had stayed behind to practice a song that they were thinking of using for sectionals. They ran through the song, section by section, to get the choreography down, and then took a five minute break. A few people stayed behind to rest in the Auditorium, but most of the students scattered to refill water bottles, grab snacks from the vending machines, use the bathroom, fix their hair, etc. Blaine had made some excuse about needing to grab a sweater from his locker and Kurt had gladly agreed to accompany them.

That was ten minutes ago. The two truthfully had gone to Blaine's locker and picked up his sweater, but there was also a quick detour into an empty classroom for a few quick kisses, which turned into a few more kisses. Finally, Kurt pulled back from his boyfriend.

"I think it's been more than five minutes."

"Who cares?" Blaine said, leaning in for another kiss. Kurt stopped him by placing a finger between their lips just before they met again. Blaine sighed and placed a kiss on Kurt's index finger.

"You're right, of course. We should get back." Kurt nodded, but didn't move. Even though he had been the one to stop things, he didn't really want to have to leave. But the show must go on, and they were expected back.

"Santana's probably already making some crude joke as to why we're not there."

"Well we can't have that." Blaine took Kurt's hand and dragged him out of the classroom, laughing. The two of them walked hand in hand down the hall, enjoying the comfortable silence between them.

That was, until Karofsky came up from behind and slammed his shoulder into Blaine's. It wasn't with enough force to knock him over, but by the look on Blaine's face, not to mention personal experience, Kurt knew it had at least been enough to hurt him.

"Hey!" He shouted at Karofsky's back. With a pinch of fear in his gut, Kurt remembered the last time he had called Karofsky out like this. He tightened his grip on Blaine's hand. Surely he wouldn't start something with someone else there. "What is wrong with you? Are you seriously so threatened by us that you can't let a gay guy even walk within twenty feet of you without resorting to violence?" Karofsky smirked back at him.

"Didn't realize your boyfriend was so fragile, homo."

"Ok, that's enough," Blaine said, stepping forward to square his shoulders with Kurt's.

"The first time I met you, all I wanted to do was help, but you turned down that help and now I'm done offering it. These are your issues. Quit dumping them on us." Karofsky grabbed the front of Blaine's T-shirt, shoving him against the wall. Kurt tried to shove him away, but he wasn't budging. They had gone to far, pushed Karofsky too hard, and now something had snapped. He tried to pry Karofsky's hands from Blaine, but nothing was working.

Belatedly, Kurt realized their mistake. Whatever Karofsky's problem was, whatever his reasons for not coming out of the closet, they were beyond both his and Blaine's understanding. Karofsky was trapped by something, something keeping him from being who he was. He was an animal in a cage, and whether intentional or not, he and Blaine had been shaking that cage every time Karofsky saw them.

"Hey," a voice called from down the hall. Karofsky turned and Kurt could see, just over his shoulder, Finn and the rest of Glee Club standing in the hallway. "Let them go!"

Karofsky turned back to Kurt and Blaine. The rage in his face was gone, replaced by panic. The three of them just stared at each other. Karofsky's hands were still fisted in Blaine's shirt with Kurt's hands wrapped around them, frozen in the act of trying to pry him away. Karofsky's eyes darted between Kurt and Blaine's, and Kurt realized the source of the panic.

Blaine had said they weren't going to help him anymore. Karofsky was afraid they were going to tell someone.

Suddenly, Finn was there, pulling Karofsky away. A moment later, Quinn was by their sides, placing comforting hands on their faces and shoulders, making sure they were both ok.

Karofsky backed away, all pretense of anger now gone. His eyes roamed over the students from Glee Club who were now standing between them. The boys stood tense, ready for a fight. Even Artie looked like he could throw a punch if needed, chair be damned. Mercedes and Santana stood their ground next to the guys, both looking more than capable of kicking Karofsky's ass with the amount of anger seething behind their eyes. Rachel, Quinn, and Brittany stood close to Kurt and Blaine. Quinn still had a hand on both Kurt's and Blaine's shoulders, and Brittany had taken Blaine's hand, lacing her fingers through his. Rachel stood with her arms across her chest, a perfect picture of the Glee army's commander, which Kurt was certain she fancied herself as. As Karofsky looked at all of them, Kurt could have sworn he saw a look of longing pass over his face, but it disappeared too quickly, if it was ever there to begin with.

"You should go," Sam said in a steady voice. And he did.

* * *

Kurt's eyes fluttered open when he heard the doorbell ring. He didn't even realize he had fallen asleep. The credits to "Love Actually" were scrolling across the TV and he could feel the warm press of Blaine's body behind him. The two had snuggled up on the couch to watch the romantic comedy after school, but Kurt had apparently fallen asleep before they were even five minutes into the movie.

Blaine placed a soft kiss against Kurt's jaw and whispered, "Do you want me to get that?"

"What?" Kurt asked groggily.

"There's someone at the door. Do you want me to get it?"

"No," Kurt mumbled, pushing himself into a sitting position. "No, I've got it." He got to his feet, rubbing at his eyes lightly in an attempt to pull himself more firmly into the land of the conscious. He opened the door and froze, suddenly unsure whether or not he had actually dozed back off again. Standing on his doorstep, looking nervous and ready to flee was Dave Karofsky.

"What are you doing here?" Karofsky looked down at his feet and mumbled something. "Didn't catch that," Kurt said, still keeping the door halfway shut. Karofsky didn't look like he was about to attack Kurt or anything, but he had shown up at his house. That was odd and more than a little bit creepy. It had been two days since their last run in, and Kurt was pretty sure Karofsky had been avoiding him ever since.

"I said I'm sorry," Karofsky said a bit louder. Finally, he looked up at Kurt. "I'm sorry, OK?" Kurt just stared at him in confusion.

"And you felt the need to come to my house to tell me this?" Karofsky's eyes slid past him to the hallway. Kurt turned to see what he was looking at and found Blaine standing in the entryway behind him, an inscrutable look on his face. He turned back to Karofsky and crossed his arms, waiting for an answer.

"I've been seeing a therapist, and he said I should apologize, so..." He stuck his hands in his pockets and threw a nervous look over his shoulder towards his car. "Look, I know I treated you wrong, and I can't take that back, but I am sorry." He looked past Kurt to Blaine and added, "to both of you."

"Apology accepted," Blaine said softly. Kurt turned to look at him once again, but Blaine's face didn't hold any more answers than the last time. He turned back to Karofsky and found the boy watching him, his eyes gleaming with hope.

"I'm sorry," Kurt said, "But I can't accept your apology. Not yet, anyway." The hope left Karofsky's eyes immediately and his head dropped. After a moment, he nodded.

"Well, I needed to say it anyway," he mumbled. "Bye Kurt." Without looking at Kurt again, Karofsky turned and strode back to his car. Kurt shut the door, but he didn't make a move to go back to the living room. He just stood there, listening to the engine of Karofsky's SUV roar to life and then fade away as he drove off.

Blaine's hand found his back, rubbing small circles between his shoulder blades.

"You OK?" he asked. Kurt shook his head.

"Am I a horrible person?" He was trying to hold back the tears, but he couldn't hide the slight hitch in his voice.

"Of course not," Blaine said, pressing a soft kiss to the back of his neck. "Why would you think that?"

"Because I didn't accept his apology. I understand why he did what he did. He was just angry and confused, and he's sorry for it, but I couldn't accept that. I just… I couldn't do it."

"Look at me," Blaine said, tugging on Kurt's shoulders to turn him around. "You are not a bad person." Kurt tried to look away, but Blaine placed a gentle, but firm hand against his cheek and pulled his face back to look at him. "Stuff like this doesn't heal in a few days. It's OK to feel this way."

"But I don't want to feel this way. I want to be able to accept his apology and move on."

"Then you will. Maybe not today, but it will happen." Kurt sighed wrapped his arms around his boyfriend, burying his face in Blaine's neck.

"What would I do without you?" he mumbled. Blaine didn't answer. He just held Kurt; every now and then placing light kisses against his temple.

Eventually, they returned to the living room. Sticking with the theme of chick flicks, Blaine selected "Just Like Heaven" and they settled back onto the couch. As the movie played, Kurt let his mind drift.

He really was sorry that he couldn't give Karofsky the closure he needed. They weren't friends. Kurt didn't ever think they really could be, but he still felt for him. He still wanted Karofsky to be able to accept himself. He had struggled with that far too much not to want it for everyone else too. He wanted Karofsky to find what it was that would allow him to truly be himself.

Kurt and Blaine had both been fortunate enough to have supporting families and friends. It didn't make things easy, but it certainly made things easier. And they had each other. No matter what the world told him about his sexuality being wrong or unnatural, Kurt loved Blaine, and that love was a constant reminder of how right their relationship really was. It didn't matter what the world had to say. They didn't know. But Kurt did, and right now, that was enough for him.

* * *

**I think this was the most difficult chapter of this entire fic to write. As the Prophet Chuck (from Supernatural) says, "Endings are hard. Any chapped ass monkey with a keyboard can poop out a beginning, but endings are impossible." Hopefully this chapter does the rest of the fic justice, but I just don't know. (Not that this is the very end. Just the beginning of the end. There's still one last chapter.)**

**I blame it all on Karofsky. I didn't feel right ending this story without some sort of resolution and closure for that character, but that story line is so big that it's really difficult for me to kind of wrap my head around how I think it would or should go down. I had about twelve different ideas floating around in my head for that part, but this was the one that flowed the best.**


	9. Ch 9: Not Alone

**And here it is! The final, show stopping number and the cheesy ending you've all been waiting for. Ok, maybe you all haven't been waiting for this, but I certainly have. I wrote the first draft of it all the way back in chapter two!**

**Hopefully it gives you all warm fluffy feelings in your tummies. Enjoy.**

**

* * *

**

"Mr. Schue? Blaine and I were hoping to sing something today."

"Sure Kurt, go ahead." Kurt stepped to the front of the class, while Blaine rummaged through his bag for their sheet music.

"Before we begin, I just want to thank you all for the support you've shown me. I'm so happy to be back with New Directions, and I'm grateful to have all of you as my friends. It really means a lot to me."

"And I really want to thank all of you for making me feel so welcome," Blaine said, walking down the risers to stand by Kurt. "When I was younger, I had to put up with a lot of bullying at my school, and I never had anyone to stand up for me. I know you all have been on the receiving end of bullying at one time or another, and if there's something I've learned from being here this past week, as long as people stick together, they can take on anything."

Blaine handed the sheet music to the pianist and the band while Kurt pulled two stools out for them. They took their seats, and the band began playing.

"I've been alone," Blaine sang, his eyes closed.

"Surrounded by darkness

I've seen how heartless

The world can be."

"I've seen you crying," he opened his eyes, taking Kurt's hand and giving him a warm smile.

"You felt like it's hopeless

I'll always do my best

To make you see."

"Baby you're not alone

'Cause you're here with me

and nothings ever gonna bring us down

'Cause nothing can keep me from loving you

and you know it's true

it don't matter what'll come to be

our love is all we need to make it through."

"Now I know it ain't easy," Kurt sang.

"But it ain't hard trying."

"It's so hard trying," Blaine chimed in.

"Every time I see you smiling

And I feel you so close to me

And you tell me."

Kurt and Blaine's voices blended together as they sang the chorus. Kurt looked away from Blaine to the audience, smiling at his friends.

"Baby you're not alone

'Cause you're here with me

And nothing's ever gonna bring us down

'Cause nothing can keep me from loving you

And you know it's true

It don't matter what'll come to be

Our love is all we need to make it through"

"Well I still have trouble," Blaine sang.

"I trip and stumble trying to make sense of things sometimes

I look for reasons

But I don't need 'em

All I need is to look in your eyes

And I'll realize,"

"Baby I'm not alone," As Kurt and Blaine moved back to the chorus, another voice joined theirs. Mercedes stood up and walked over to where they sat, placing a hand on Kurt's shoulder and singing along with them.

"'Cause you're here with me

And nothing's ever gonna take us down

'Cause nothing can keep me from loving you." By now, the rest of New Directions had joined in, some of them coming to stand by Kurt and Blaine and others just sitting in their seats, holding hands with people next to them or leaning into their boyfriend or girlfriend's arms.

"And you know it's true

It don't matter what'll come to be

Out love is all we need to make it through."

"Oh cause you're here with me," Blaine's voice rang out above the others before joining back in with the entire class as they sang,

"And nothing's ever gonna bring us down

Cause nothing, nothing, nothing can keep me from loving you

And you know it's true

It don't matter what'll come to be

You know our love is all we need."

"Our love is all we need," Kurt sang softly. Everyone else was silent now, and Kurt looked at Blaine as the two of them sang the last lines.

"To make it

Through."

* * *

Mr. Shue watched his students from his seat next to the piano as they sang this love song to each other. As a teacher, it was always a fine line to walk between caring for your students and becoming too attached. Will was certain that he'd crossed that line long ago with the students before him. He cared deeply about every one of them, and it always made his heart ache to see them in pain. Whether that was the pain of being bullied or a particularly bad break up, Will felt for each and every one of them.

Will was happy that Kurt had found someone, and even though he still didn't know Blaine as well as the others, he could feel his affection for that boy growing. He was a nice kid, and he needed Glee Club just as much as everyone else in that room.

But most of all, what Will felt as he sat there watching his students was pride. High School was hell for most students. Will knew that. But it was times like this that made it bearable. Through all the troubles they would have in life, they would always have each other. They would always be there to support each other and love each other, and there was nothing more powerful in the world than that.

No matter what happened at regional's that year, no matter whether they won or lost or if Glee Club was canceled forever, those kids would have each other, and things would be OK.

* * *

**Ugh. Not Alone was a bitch to narrate. So far, the songs have not been terribly difficult for me to write into this fic, but this one definitely was.**

**Anyway, thank you to everyone who has stuck with me this long. At last count, I had 111 people who were following Not Alone on the Story Alerts, so I want to thank each and every one of you, along with all the people who were following this without adding it to their alerts and anyone who started reading this after it was complete. You guys have been awesome and I really appreciate all of the reviews and support you've given me while I wrote this.**

**If anyone is interested, I do have another Klaine fic that will be going up sometime today, along with several new fics that will be popping up either today or within the next few weeks, so keep an eye out for all that stuff. ^.^**


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